Tortured Soul
by Team Dragon Star
Summary: Videl Satan, one of the top agents in the world, is about to go on her most dangerous and personnel mission yet. She will need every trick in the book to accomplish her mission - to terminate the Delivery Boy.
1. Chapter 1

**Team Dragon Star bringing you another story, this one created by Gue22. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: TDS does not own DBZ**

...

Her fringe was low, too low to be regarded as fashionable. It extended all the way down to the eyelids enclosing her big blue eyes, and when she blinked, like she was now, her long and dark eyelashes brushed against the tips of her snipped locks.

_Terminate_

She read over the instructions of the new assignment again, trying to keep the surprise from her face. She didn't want her boss to think she was showing emotion, that just wouldn't do. She hated her boss almost as much as she hated her fringe, and she hated that stupid fringe a lot, she hated her whole hairstyle, she hated her face and pretty much hated everything else about herself, but...her life had seized to be about what she liked or loved a long time ago, back when, she was still the loved, the worshipped, the spoilt and the privileged, Videl Satan.

She glanced at the head shot of the target - the blonde boy, with wide expressive eyes, staring back at her from the glossy paper.

_Target: Deliver-Boy_

_Instructions: __Terminate_

She pushed back the fleeting thoughts about her old life, loves and passions and focused on the here and now. Right now, life was strictly about what was needed, and the slightly longer than fashionable fringe was absolutely necessary to conceal the hideous burn stretching thick and hard on the surface of her forehead.

She reclined back on the soft padding of her chair, her posture straight, her leg over her thigh, tapping her long nails on her boss's large desk.

"Let me get this straight, you're sending me out to terminate a target that played a hand in saving the world, and you're telling me that the reasons are strictly on a need to know basis?" She spoke with her head tilted, so her eyes could see him clearly, from beneath the thin veil of her fringe

"That is correct Agent" her boss told her with an even voice, as he slid a magnified photograph over to her side of the table "...this is a still image from the Cell Games, our face recognition software has been able to positively identify him" he said, tapping his index finger on the enlarged photograph of the warrior with the scars on his face "...he's somewhat of a baseball legend..."

"Yeah, Yamcha the Bandit, I recognise him" she said distastefully

"Good" he said, closing the open folder spread out before him. "...because he's the only definite lead we have, find him" he said, leaning back into the comfort of his leather chair.

"You may use any means necessary to get him to talk, dispose of him after if it pleases you, but, the delivery-boy has to be found, identified and terminated. It's a matter of world security, agent" he finished, glancing at his watch rudely, his signature move to say 'get the fuck out of my office'.

Videl scowled, the lines not quiet reaching her forehead. The skin there had been so severely damaged by the fire on the roof all those years ago, that the scabs had left that area without sensation, and completely cut off from all facial movement.

"Is there a problem Agent Tan?" Her boss eyed her impatiently

"No. I was just leaving" she said, sliding the photograph of the band of warriors into her folder with the rest of the scattered documents, as she rose from her chair. "Good-day, sir" she said in a clipped voice, and made her exit, folder clutched under her arm.

She walked out of the big office, across the corridor and straight into the elevator.

"Agent Tan," the three occupants greeted her by nodding their heads

"Agents," she acknowledged, her eyes staring out of the glass walls of the lift as it made its descent.

As soon as the doors parted, she stepped out, her heels clanking noisily on the tiles.

"So that's the she-man huh?" One of the men commented, highly amused as he watched the sway of her hips in those fitted dress pants

"Yep, that's her," the other one said, as the trio stepped out of the doors more leisurely behind her

"I thought she was supposed to be as ugly as fuck, that ass looked pretty sweet to me." He observed her disappearing form.

"Don't even think about it man, she'll shove your balls down your throat so fast, you'll miss the taste."

"Doubt it. That little thing? What is she, five-one, five-two at most? Hardly the fearsome Jawbreaker everyone's been talking about."

"You say that now, but two seconds in the training ring with her, and you'll be singing a different tune."

"Pft." he scoffed, unconvinced

She pushed past the revolving doors and walked six blocks to a pay phone. She hated pay-phones, but she couldn't use any of her own phones to make this call. She couldn't risk it.

"Sweat-Pea, is that you?" A groggy voice answered

"Don't call me that. I got your message, is something wrong?"

"No. I'm fine, I was just worried, you've been quiet for three months." the champ said lamely

"I was on a job. I've just gotten back, and I'm just about to head off to another assignment."

"Videl, when are you..."

"Don't call me that, Videl Satan is dead." she said tonelessly

"I just..." His voice began to crack with emotion

"Not now, or I'll hang up"

"I just miss my baby girl. I'm all alone here Videl. I..."

Beep. Beep. Beep

She hung up, irritated.

She walked another four blocks, trying to push back the memories of the girl she used to be. Videl Satan - daughter to the world saviour, crime-fighter and heroine of Satan city.

_"That's okay chief, I got this." She disregarded the warning, jumping on to the blazing roof from her copter._

Clank clank clank, her heels were the only audible sound as she made her way away from the pay-phone and down the pavement.

_"It's gonna be okay, I have a plan" she assured the panicked civilians, as the flames inched closer and closer to where they huddled._

Clank, clank, clank...she kept walking. She hated these calls to her father, he always made her remember that which she desired to forget the most

The fire on that roof

The smoke, the screams...

She shuddered, running a finger lightly across her forehead.

_"Help ME!" A woman screamed in agony, the flames licking her skin, the smoke assailing her senses_

No. Videl Satan was dead. She was Agent Del Tan, and she was on a mission to hunt down and kill the delivery-boy.

...

"Out of the question" Chichi refused, placing a platter of food on the table

"But mom..." Goten whined

"I said no Goten, besides, Gohan needs the extra help in the mine, don't you sweetie?" She cast her eyes to her oldest as she emptied a pot of dumplings into a serving dish

"Err...I don't mind" he shrugged, breaking some garlic bread "...if Goten wants to take a break and go to high school..."

"Please mom, Trunks already started last year, I don't want to be home schooled like Gohan for the rest of my life, look at him..." His eyes travelled to his big brother

"What about him?" Chichi asked

"No offense Gohan, but..." Goten began

"But what?" Gohan stared up to his brother innocently

"You don't have a life, you don't have friends, and you're just...urgh..." He didn't know what to say, Gohan wouldn't even understand all that he had missed in life. He wouldn't understand the whispers about his social retardedness amongst his employees.

"Son Goten, your brother owns and runs the most successful uranium mine in the world. Under my tutelage, he finished home-schooling and went to the highest ranking university in the world. How dare you look down on him?" Chichi fumed

"I'm not looking down on him mom, I just don't want to end up like him, okay? Is that so bad?"

"Mom, let Goten go to high school. He's earned his place. Besides, he's only thirteen; it's against the law to put him to work in the mines, its fine..." Gohan said, rubbing his temples. The subject of high school would forever be a sore spot for him. He had begged his mother to at least allow him to go for his final year, but she had told him NO!

"One bad grade, and it's over. You understand young man?" She glared at her youngest

"Alright!" Goten jumped up from his chair, almost hugging his mother to death "I'm gonna go call Trunks and let him know" he started to jog to his room before he backtracked "...oops!" He grinned, getting back into his chair "...food first..." He said, before he resumed his inhalation of the assorted dishes

_You don't have a life, you don't have friends!_

The words rang in Chichi's mind as she sat down on the large table watching her oldest son eat. He still ate a mountain-full, but he was quiet and mannered in his eating, taking the time to wipe his mouth in between dishes.

_Did I do him an injustice by keeping him here? Homeschooled his whole life? Never meeting and interacting with kids his own age?_

Within a few minutes of sitting down to gobble up his food, Goten was done, rushing to his room to give his best-friend the good news.

"Gohan?" Chichi prompted softly "Are you happy?"

"Huh?" He lifted his face from the ostrich leg he was devouring

"Are you happy?" She asked again

"I'm fine mum; the mine is doing really well. The nuclear plant is doing even better, and I think I'm about to break through to a new level of power, Piccolo thinks so too, so...yeah...I'm fine" he concluded, getting back to his food

Chichi sighed. It was always the same thing with him. Work or training, work or training! Didn't he want to go out and meet people? Have some friends his own age? Meet a nice girl and give her grandbabies?

"You didn't answer my question Gohan" she sighed

Gohan helped himself to more food and pretended not to have heard her. What was he supposed to say? He had done everything she had ever asked of him. He was a success, he was in shape, and unknown to her, he was actually sneaking out at night 'neutralizing' discreet weapons manufacturing plants that were using uranium from his mines.

Yet, when he closed his eyes at night, even he, with all his general worldly inexperience, knew, that there was definitely something missing. No, he couldn't say that he was happy, but...he couldn't exactly say that he was _un_happy either, he was just...fine.

...

Yamcha stopped at the entrance for a few minutes to let himself be photographed. It astounded him that he still had fans that would care if his face suddenly showed up in the papers; he had stopped playing baseball a long time ago. Winning a game just felt hollow, especially considering the world-saving accomplishments of the others, from the old days. He sighed, putting on a smile as he struck a pose, like he was about to bat, pity he wasn't in his old gear.

He felt silly doing this, like he felt silly doing most things in his life but, this was not the time to beat himself up. He allowed them a few more clicks, a few more flashes and waved, disappearing into the club.

Yet another party.

It was past two in the morning when he staggered out, he didn't even bother to decapsulize his car, and he just walked and walked, taking in the scenery, allowing the fresh air to sober him up a bit as he continued walking all the way to his apartment.

He supposed he was an old man now, but without a family of his own, he really had no reason to stay in at night. All his friends from the old days had families, damnit even Chaiotzu, and all his friends from his baseball days also had families, well...the ones who hadn't died from an overdose of some sort.

He didn't live as well off as he could have, had he been more careful with his money, so his apartment was nothing special. He turned the key, pushed through the door and barely had a second to react when he suddenly and drunkedly sensed a presence behind the door.

He was passed out before he knew who, or what had knocked him out.

...

Under the cover of night, Gohan checked his watch and pulled up his mask. The thin black fabric stretched from his neck up, over his chin, his mouth, making a tip of a triangle over his nose, leaving the top half of his cheeks, his eyes and forehead exposed. His outfit was the exact replica of the one he had worn from his battle with Cell, minus his white cape.

_To be used as the thermal power source in a new nuclear plant my ass_, he thought, scowling at the manufacturing plant.

He had strict restrictions when it came to 'who' he sold uranium to, and it was no secret that his mine didn't sell for weapons manufacturing. Yet, a few months back, he had discovered that some of his clients, private companies or governments alike, had falsified their intentions on their purchase contracts. They had in fact, been using 'his' uranium to build nuclear weapons, not power plants that would supply much needed clean energy to many an impoverished area.

As far as he was concerned, it was simple - weapons meant the lives of millions of innocents in senseless wars across the globe, and that...just wouldn't do.

One by one, across the globe, the manufacturing plants were disappearing, leaving only a mark burned into the ground 'DB' so they would know that it was him, the delivery-boy, delivering one more message to the world - and tonight he was at it again.

He sprung from his hiding place and levitated into the air, his golden glow of power burning bright and hot, crackling with bolts of intensity, illuminating the night around him. He made a quick sweep with his senses, just to confirm that the plant was empty.

_Six distinct kis within the perimeter_, he scowled, _probably security_, he concluded, as he picked them out, one by one, and got to work.

...

Yamcha coughed and sputtered as the water went through his nose and mouth travelling all the way down to his lungs. His eyes flew open as his body instinctively jerked upwards, the water he was immersed in lapping at his cornea. The last thing he remembered was coming home from the club, turning the key to his apartment, the weird presence behind his door...

_What the fuck?_

He blinked rapidly and hauled his head from underneath the water, spitting and coughing up the water that had gone down the wrong pipe.

The first thing he saw was smoke, three perfectly formed bubbles of it, floating leisurely away from a red pair of lips. He couldn't see her face clearly, her dark hair was thick, held up by a long and thick chop-stick like hair-pin at the top of her head, the sides falling into her face, cut into a weird style that just seemed to narrow into her side-profile, her slightly longer than expected fringe covering the rest, making it impossible for him to distinguish her features clearly.

The second thing he noticed was her calm demeanor, she was sitting on one of _his _dining room chairs, one she had clearly dragged to his bathroom, without a care in the world, her legs crossed, puffing away, patiently waiting for him to wake up.

The third thing he noticed was that he was bound, in hand-cuffs, his hands crossed behind him, his ankles side by side, where he lay immersed in water in his own tub, the water level up to his chin, with his head just barely, just barely able to keep afloat.

_Great_, he thought, _just great_

He took a few deep and calming breathes, now that he had rid himself of all the water in his lungs, and focused on _her_

"Hello Bandit" she said casually, blowing out another circular bubble of smoke, as if she was greeting an old friend, not a captive whose house she had broken into, snuck up on, tied-up, and just about drowned

Videl watched him intently, slightly surprised by his obvious lack of panic. Most people would usually be trembling by now, coming to, to find themselves about to be drowned. She flicked the back of her cigarette with her thumb, the ash dropping to the floor

"Who the fuck are you?" He asked, his brain making a hundred calculations. _Could she be a jilted lover? A crazed fan? A combination of both?_ He couldn't be sure

"Save your breath hot-shot. You're gonna need it" was all she said, before he suddenly felt the rather sudden and rapid influx of water in his nose and mouth, burning a passage right through to his lungs, as his head was without ceremony dunked under the water.

"Glur...ghrk" he sputtered, heaving as he pulled himself out, _damn she's fast_, he marveled, slightly impressed, blinking rapidly to rid his eyes of the sting of the water

"The Cell Games, twelve years ago, you were there..." She told him, producing an enlarged photograph of him and the old gang "This" she said, tapping her finger on the face of the only child, amongst the warriors "...the delivery-boy, I need a name" she said, allowing the photograph to drop into the water, as she returned to her chair to finish inhaling her cigarette

_This whole thing is about Gohan?_ He thought, a bit relieved that it had nothing to do with his less than blemish free past

"Like I said lady, who the fuck are you?" He tested out his cuffs, even as he began to fuel some energy into his bound hands.

Videl was slightly irritated by this guy's nonchalant attitude, she had hoped that she wouldn't have to rough him up, he was one of the few who had shown up to face the menace that was Cell all those years ago, and for that, she respected him. Despite his reputation after his failed relationship with that beautiful heiress that she despised.

_Oh well..._

Her fist was sailing towards him in an instant, on pure instinct, despite being rusty, he blocked with his forearm, the action causing him to break the cuffs clean in the middle.

Videl widened her eyes, surprised when she saw the dangling twin chains where the cuffs had previously been joined together. She quickly moved to dunk his head back into the water with her free hand, but the washed up baseball player caught that one as well.

"I usually like to get a name first, before things get...you know... kinky" he smirked at her

Videl saw red, she hated almost everything in general, but she hated sexual innuendos even more than her hair. In a flash, she jumped into the air and propelled her feet forward, both of them landing on his chest with a loud splash. Her black heels began digging into his torso as her feet and legs sank into the water with him, catching him off guard, his head slipping back underwater.

Her wrists still in his hands, she tried to yank herself off, but his grip was firm, his face set into a scowl as his eyes slanted down to the bit of red floating and staining the bath water from where her heels had punctured little holes in him through his shirt.

She quickly abandoned the balancing act she was performing on top of him, and dug her heels out of his flesh as she extended her legs perpendicularly, wrapping them around his neck, yanking him towards her. Yamcha's face found itself planted between her thighs, and he was just thinking that this was not the worst place to end up, when she started squeezing his face in, with her thigh muscles.

_Damnit I can't breathe_, he thought, releasing her hands from his hold, using them instead to pry her thighs open. That was all the time Videl needed.

She reached into the back of her head and pulled out the long-hair pin holding up her locks, and bit off the tip with her teeth, spitting to the side, as to not swallow the contents.

And just as Yamcha managed to force her thighs apart, raising his head to take a breath of the much needed air, something stung him at the base of his neck, the liquid contained in the pin, seeping into his system.

"Ouch!" He yelped, pulling his arm back to touch the spot, and the force of her knuckles crashed against his face, twice, and he found himself spitting blood.

_Clever little minx,_ he thought, blocking the next assault, getting a bit tired of this little scuffle, she was talented and clever, but...sadly for her, nowhere near close to his league, even after all the years of slacking off.

In a blink of an eye, Videl was sent crashing into the wall, skidding down to the floor. Yamcha jumped out of the water, creating a splash against the tiles and landed a bit unsteadily on his feet, his shoes squeaking noisily. He moved sloppily into a fighting stance, blinking rapidly when he realized that he was starting to feel a bit woozy.

_What the fuck?_

"Enough lady" he said, watching her get back to her feet "Your pretty good, might even make a decent warrior with the correct training, but... you're still no match for me" he smiled at her lazily as she set her perky lips into a straight line. "...so cut it out already, and tell me what you want with my friend. I've never been one to hit a pretty girl" he let his eyes drop to her chest

"Then this is your lucky day" she moved into her fighting stance as well, her wet clothes clinging to her every curve, making the outline of her bra visible through her shirt "...lucky day indeed, since...I'm anything but..._pretty_...hiiiiiiyaaah!" she charged him

Yamcha ducked and dodged, surprised at the heavy feeling in his limbs, the sting from where she had jabbed him with her hair-pin, throbbing. She kept attacking him with a flurry of punches and kicks, and with each punch, each dodge, each kick and each block, he kept feeling heavier and heavier, his eyes droopy, until finally, his knees sagged, he couldn't move one more muscle, he was done, and he didn't understand it.

"It's called evolution dumb ass" she said, when she saw the shock and confusion on his face, as his body refused to obey his commands any further "...if your opponent is stronger than you..." She circled him, her voice raspy "...faster than you..." She reached behind her back and pulled out a knife from the back of her pants "... You just gotta outsmart him..." She smirked, giving him a push, watching triumphantly as his body flopped to the floor

_What the fuck?_ He panicked, when he couldn't move. Whatever she had stabbed into him, had run it's course, he was temporarily paralyzed

She crouched down to knee level and placed the tip of the knife against his neck.

"Call him" she said, her head tilted at an angle so her eyes could meet his "...call him or die..." She said calmly

Yamcha gulped, he still couldn't move and the tip of the knife was beginning to pierce his skin, aiming directly for his pulsing vein, and with each passing second, she inched it further and deeper into his skin

"Call him" she repeated, changing hands, as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes, the other hand still holding the knife steadily against his throat.

"Shit" she swore, when she realized just how soggy the box was. She pushed the knife deeper, the blood oozing slowly down the blade "...you made me wet my cigarettes..."

"If you really wanted to kill me, I'm guessing you would have done it already. I guess it's true, pretty girls are really just good for one thing" Yamcha said, smiling as he appraised her figure with his eyes, about the only part of him, he could still move

The vein in Videl's temple was pulsing violently, _this-ass hole is really pushing it, maybe I should just slit his throat, and wait for the delivery-boy to show up at his funeral. Then I won't have to go through the arduous task of torturing him._

She continued to push the blade into the bandit's neck, until it was millimetres from the artery, she could feel his heartbeat quickening through the handle of the blade.

"Oh yeah" she leaned into him "...and what would that be exactly? All pretty girls are to be used and then discarded to the side by the likes of you? You make me sick" she spat at him

"Say whatever you like lady, but in my experience, it's pretty girls like you, with big blue eyes, eyes that could make a man walk into the jaws of death itself that do the _using and discarding_, after TEN FUCKING YEARS. You try being tossed aside like garbage, for someone stronger and then come and spit your nonsense in my face." He said bitterly "I make you sick? Well, you can take your knife and kiss my ass lady, cause all you women make me equally as sick"

"So...this knife doesn't scare you hah?" She paused, staring at his fearless face, before she raised her foot into the air "...maybe this will then," she said, her voice laced with venom as she brought down her stilettos down between his legs, right in the balls.

Yamcha's howl of pain roared through his entire apartment building, it was like music to her ears, but it was the sound of the man's sobbing that made her take pause.

_The place was ablaze with giant flames and frenzied panic, women and children scurried in all directions, some jumping unsuccessfully out of the windows, trying desperately to escape their cruel fate. Cries rang out throughout the air as the sickly hiss of crackling flames tore through everything in sight, flesh included..._

Coming back to the present, Videl realised that this was different, this man was being stubborn, bringing the pain upon himself, those people hadn't. Raising her foot again Videl continued to rain down pain onto Yamcha's genitalia. She was about to do it again, when Yamcha suddenly had a change of heart

"Stop. Stop" his voice trembled "I'll call him, I'll call him" he relented

"Now that wasn't so difficult was it?" Videl said, with a smug smile on her face.

In a second she had brought the phone to him.

Yamcha's heartbeat quickened when no one picked up on the other end, with each passing second, and each subsequent ring, Yamcha broke into a sweat. He knew it was late but come on; his crown jewels were at stake here.

"Erm, yeah it's me" he began to leave a message after the beep, hoping against all hope that it would placate the psycho woman he had the misfortune of being with "...listen if you get this, please can you come over, it's kind of urgent, it's something concerning Cell" his voice sounded pained, even to his own ears.

"Blondie's still asleep hah? Aww, well looks like you're going to have to put up with me for a while longer." She smiled at him, "...until then I have some fun games for us to play" she concluded with a devilish grin.

Yamcha's face dropped, a look of fear in his eyes not seen since the fight against Gero.

_Gohan please help._

...

Gohan deposited the knocked out guards a long distance away from the site. He wanted to destroy every last particle of this particular company, and he wanted the guards to be as far away from the blast as possible. Not only were they in breach of their contract about the weapons, but they had been running radiation exposure experiments on human subjects, trying to quantify how much a human body could withstand exposure before death.

_Why are people so intent on harming one another? Did they not learn that we must unite to face foes like Cell? Nothing can be gained from fighting amongst ourselves._

He made his way to the main reactor, delighted to get started, now that the entire area was deserted.

Charging the crackling bolt of orange ki in his hand to dangerous levels, Gohan targeted the reactor and launched his attack.

...

He floated in the air admiring his handy-work, not a spec was left. He had incinerated everything, down to the very last particle. A huge DB was ki- etched into the ground, right where he had just placed the cowering guards. It was beautifully done, he was really starting to get a handle of this ki-calligraphy

"Tell your bosses to tell their bosses and their governments, that the delivery-boy's message is simple - stop building these weapons, or find yourselves bankrupt, for I will burn them all to the ground," he recited the new version of his speech, before he took off into the air and sped home.

_That was pretty coo_l, he congratulated himself. He had practiced that particular version many times in the mirror, and he was pretty satisfied with how it had come out.

_Whatever Goten,_ he thought happily, dismissively, making unnecessary zips and zaps in the air, twisting and turning himself any which way, _I don't need to socialize with guys my own age to have fun. Look at me Go!_

...

He let himself in through his window, his boots touching his bedroom floor lightly. It was very late he observed, and he had an array of boring meetings lined up in just a few hours. He undressed, placing his DB outfit in his laundry basket and went downstairs to his kitchen to fix himself a snack.

It was a clear night, the air warm and humid, so he took a stack of reports, grabbed his phone and sat outside the terrace overlooking his mom's house, and ate.

Ten new messages, he noticed the flash on his phone. This was his personal number, very few people had it. Immediately he thought of Goten. Had he snuck out at night with Trunks and gotten into trouble?

He quickly dialled the number for his voicemail and listened.

They were all from Yamcha, all fifteen minutes apart, and each consecutive message seemed to be increasing in panic. Well, all but the last one...

"Look, if this is really the delivery-boy's number, then you have until sun-up to get your ass to your friend Yamcha's apartment, otherwise, his ability to father children may very well be permanently disabled. Hurry, he's losing a lot of blood" was the last message he heard, the voice was calm, almost amused, but definitely a girl's.

He hurried to the bathroom and threw on his outfit before tearing through the air

_Hold on Yamcha, I'm on my way__..._

_..._

**What's in store for our favourite hybrid? Will he get there in time? Who will write the next chapter? Find out soon.**

**Please review**


	2. Chapter 2

Team Dragon star owns nothing

This chapter was brought to you by the one and only amazing Gue22

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

He felt sick.

The assault on his crotch had been brutal and excruciating. The pain was still very much alive down there, throbbing and making him worry about the future of his assets. By the time she was through, it hadn't been just pain he had felt, he had felt nauseous, like he could throw up in his own mouth at any second. Truth be told, he didn't even want to see how badly he was damaged down there, his only consolation was that any damage sustained, no matter how extensive, could at least be fixed by a sensu.

It didn't make sense to him, it shouldn't even be possible to feel pain when he was paralyzed right? But here he was, sitting on the floor in his own bathroom, his back supported by the wall, and his arms by two cushions she had gracefully brought from his sofa, unable to move, unable to reach his ki, unable to do anything really, but stare at her face as she continued to puff on her cigarette, curiously staring at the whorls of smoke as they rose and coiled, until they eventually disappeared.

What was it with smoking women with big beautiful blue eyes? Did they just have it in for him? First Bulma had torn his heart out and grinded it under her heel, and now this stranger had just about shredded his balls to shit.

"He must not like you very much, your friend" she spoke after she put out her cigarette "I mean, it's been a few hours now." she uncrossed her leg and stood up, making him blanch with worry when she approached him. If she nailed him again, he was pretty sure he would puke out his guts.

"Can I get you something? Some water or a soda?" she asked politely, as she leaned down to him, adjusting the cushions supporting him so he could be more comfortable, he had started to slouch just a bit.

"Are you fuck'n kidding me?"he stared at her in disbelief

"No. I'm off to raid your fridge, thought you might want something." she shrugged

"No." he said sourly, he really didn't want to ingest anything from her hands. She had already drugged him with her abominable hair-pin, he didn't trust her as far as he could spit.

"Suit yourself." she clanked her way noisily out of the bathroom.

…

Gohan decreased his speed as he neared Yamcha's apartment building. He was having trouble deciding on a strategy, since he didn't really know what the situation was. Had Yamcha let it slip that he was at the Cell games somehow? The messages he had left on his phone were not very specific, he said it was urgent and that it had something to do with the delivery-boy, but more importantly - he just sounded like he was in pain, lots and lots of it.

Had he hurt himself somehow? And who was the girl?

_"Look, if this is really the delivery-boy's number, then you have until sun-up to get your ass to your friend Yamcha's apartment, otherwise, his ability to father children may very well be permanently disabled. Hurry, he's losing a lot of blood"_ was the last message he had heard, the voice had been calm, almost amused, and for the life of him, he couldn't explain why it gave him a funny feeling in his stomach.

Who or _what_ was she? He knew that Yamcha wasn't much of a warrior these days, but for someone to be able to reduce him to the kind of pitiful whimpering he had heard on the phone, they had to be pretty strong, or…maybe not human.

This particular line of thought chilled him, at the same time as thrilled him. Could there possibly be a new threat, targeting them? Some stray remnant of Gero's tinkering? It was possible, he supposed, anything was possible.

He hovered outside the window overlooking the large lounge, but all was dark and quiet, all he could see was Yamcha's furniture. He reached out with his senses and felt them out. They were towards the back of the apartment, if he was not mistaken, it was either the bedroom or the bathroom.

His spirits sank just a bit, he could sense two kis, Yamcha's and another weak one, a human ki.

So much for a new threat, he thought disappointedly as he cut a hole through the window with a ki beam. He slipped inside the apartment nice and easy, wondering if there was any point in staying in super-saiyan.

"Yamcha, it's me" he called out in the dark, already making his way to where he could sense the two kis.

…

Videl heard the beeping of the sensor she had strapped to her belt, well before she heard his voice.

She leapt to her feet and pulled out a gun from the small purse she had on the basin. It didn't look very big to Yamcha, but then again, he didn't really know much about guns.

He watched her curiously as she pulled and snapped and clicked the weapon, he supposed she was getting it ready for action, not that it would do her any good against Gohan.

Videl calmly stood with her weapon in position on the side of the open door. She had seen what this delivery-guy could do from the cell-games footage; she didn't want to give him a chance to even blink.

Gohan stepped through the open bathroom door and felt the cool barrel of a gun press against his temple, as his eyes took in the sight of Yamcha propped up against the wall. The baseball star had a blotch of blood on his crotch, and a few blood stains on his shirt, where she had punctured him with her heels in the water.

"Hold it." Videl said, her fingers expertly positioned on the trigger. "Not one more step" she warned. It annoyed her that he had obviously grown so tall, her arms had to be at an upward angle for this, leaving her wide open.

Gohan's eyes slanted to the corner for just a second, but she was no threat so he quickly reverted back to Yamcha.

_Why's he just sitting there?_

"Hey buddy" Yamcha said sheepishly. This situation was highly embarrassing for him, and he could tell that Gohan was more than just a little perplexed.

Videl gritted her teeth in annoyance. She had a gun to his head, and he was yet to show signs that he had even acknowledged her. "Are you the one they call the delivery-boy? Are you the one that fought cell?" she had to ask, she would hate to put a bullet in the wrong guy's head.

Gohan heard her, but just chose to ignore her, he couldn't wrap his mind around why Yamcha would let such a weak girl do damage to his crotch. "What's going on Yamcah?" he asked, confused, as he took a step in his direction. "Who's the girl?"

Videl pulled the trigger. She had warned him.

Gohan swatted away at the noise against his ear, ticked that she had actually shot him as he watched her slam into the wall, her eyes wide, her hand still holding the gun.

"That wasn't very nice" he glared at her for a second, taking another step in Yamcha's direction. "Did she shoot you?" he posed the question to his friend, his eyes moving to the blood on the older man's crotch, unable to keep his face from wincing at the very thought.

Videl took one second to compose her shock. She had just shot him. SHOT HIM! Point blank in the head, and yet, not only was he moving around, but talking too. What was he?

His attention still diverted, she took her aim and pumped the rest of the round into him, getting five more clean shots into his head.

She froze, her eyes not believing what they were seeing.

She saw him turn his neck in her direction and frown. She didn't know how or when, but suddenly she felt herself crashing against the wall, painfully this time.

"You're trying to kill me" his voice was suddenly low and threatening, unlike the tone she had heard him use while addressing his friend.

"First prize goes to the delivery boy" she said sarcastically, wincing

Suddenly his face hovered inches from hers as she pulled herself up. Her whole body was throbbing, every single inch of her.

Gohan was trying very, very hard to keep his anger in check. She had just shot him, several times in the head. If he had been human he would be dead! There was nothing he hated more than a killer, nothing.

Videl let out a haphazard gurgling sound as his fingers wrapped around her throat in a chokehold. She was pretty sure she heard something crack, before he forced her against the wall by slamming in the back of her head, the look in his eyes deadly.

The sudden loss of oxygen, cause her to thrash about momentarily in a panic as her body violently protested against asphyxiation.

Her training kicked in though, allowing her mind to take control, as she glared back at him, lifting up her arms to retrieve the pin in her hair.

"Careful there, she used that holding up that lovely hair to paralyze me, must be some kind of drug or something" Yamcha warned from his position on the floor

"She drugged you ha?" Gohan chuckled darkly "I was wondering why you were just bumming on the floor there" he smirked at Yamcha's embarrassment. He had to admit that he had found it strange that Yamcha was just sitting around, injury to his crotch or not. The girl was just a fly compared to him.

Videl curled her fingers around her hair-pin and began to pull it out, but Gohan just took it from her, eyeing it curiously as he closed his fingers around it, effectively crushing it. With nothing holding it in place, her dark hair began to fall leisurely to her shoulders. It was so thick and rich, for a second he imagined himself threading his fingers through it.

"I don't like killers very much" he tightened his grip on her throat, as he lifted her an inch higher off the ground, watching curiously as her skin began to lose colour from lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain. Her lips parted involuntarily, letting out a strangled sound.

Videl dropped her arms and gripped the hand around her throat. She tried with all her might to pry it off of her; she tried pulling and clawing with her long nails. But nothing she did had any effect. He didn't even seem to notice that she was even trying. His eyes were glued to her face, and even though it was silly, she dipped her head a bit lower, allowing her fringe to fall further. For some reason, even though she knew that she was probably dying, she didn't want him to see how hideous she looked underneath that veil of hair.

In a last ditch effort, she kicked out with her dangling feet, but he didn't seem to feel that either, if anything she was only succeeding in depleting what little energy she had left.

Her pupils started to roll to the back of her eyes, as she struggled to remain conscious, she gave up trying to struggle and spit in his face, her last act of defiance.

"Easy there, why don't we just tie her up and let the cops deal with her, ey buddy?" Yamcha said worriedly. Sure, the girl had done a number on him, had shot Gohan several times, to kill, but still…Goku's influence on him ran deeper than he would have given it credit for, he didn't want to see Gohan tap into his dark side and kill the girl, he would only regret it later.

"She's nothing but a cold-hearted killer Yamcha. She obviously came here to kill me." Gohan snarled, as he wiped the blob of spit from his face, his eyes fixated on the blue, defiant and remorseless ones staring back at him.

His super-saiyan blood was pulsing with that extra something he never felt when he wasn't transformed. The need and desire to not just kill, but to hurt, to see his enemy squirm and plead. That extra something was beating furiously in him now, as his senses took in her scent, and his eyes drifted to the lushness of her lips. He was feeling it, that animalistic rush, as he saw her delicate features contorted in pain. He wanted to hurt her further, he wanted to see her lips parting in not just a strangled whimper but an anguished cry, maybe a trickle of blood as well for visual effect.

"You have to let up or you'll kill her, think about what you're doing man" Yamcha piped in, he did not like where this was going. Gohan had that glint in his eyes that he had only ever seen once before.

No, he definitely didn't like where this was going.

Gohan ignored Yamcha's words as he felt something tighten in his stomach, or was it his groin as she let out another strangled sound, or was it a moan? It angered him that she wasn't afraid, that she wasn't pleading for her life, or at the very least, begging for forgiveness.

"No fear even in the face of death. I have only one solution for those without regard for life."

A ball of perfectly spherical fire formed in his open palm, and he slowly guided it towards her face, watching her every twitch intently, like he was trying to see right through her skin, to the inside her skull.

Yamcha gulped, he had heard that tone before, when Goku had failed to reason with his son, when Gohan had wanted to torture Cell, to make him suffer for all his crimes.

Videl's chest heaved painfully, her throat felt raw and her vision had reached blurry, she knew she only had a few seconds left before she passed out.

She fully understood why he had to be terminated, he was practically indestructible, and as she stared into those cold teal eyes, she felt a chill run through her as she shuddered to think of the heinous crimes that he must have committed to place him on the Agency's termination list. Her boss hadn't given her the details, but...she was pretty sure it had to be for some pretty gruesome and unimaginable crimes.

Gruesome murders, she thought drowsily, allowing herself to slip into unconsciousness, but then, his abominable ball of light was suddenly in her face.

Her blood ran cold.

She wasn't afraid to die. She had already cheated death in that fire all those years ago, and a part of her knew that she should have perished with the rest of the people trapped in that building, but as the delivery-boy brought his light-trick closer and closer to her face, as it's fiery glow began to radiate heat, she couldn't help but feel the six year old panic rise to the surface.

_The hot beam fell hard onto her forehead, crushing her to the ground as the hot metal pressed against her skin with a sickening hiss. She screamed out in agony as it burned through her flesh, everywhere she looked, giant flames and smoke tore the building apart._

Gohan watched her in fascination as her body trembled, her arms crossing over her face protectively as she tried to shield her forehead from hi ki.

That extra something, the one that craved blood and violence pounded faster through him, building and intensifying when he could finally smell the fear coming from her. It was achingly… satisfying.

Satisfied, he relinquished the ball, and roughly pressed her face into the wall, wanting to see it in her eyes - the fear, the helplessness he could only imagine she must have caused to others in the past. Anyone that could fire a gun with such calm and calculated precision was no newbie to killing, he knew she had taken life before, and for this, he would punish her.

Pushing her hair away from her face so he could see all of her deadly yet delicate features uninhibited by the veil of lush hair, he was preparing to give one of his DB righteousness speeches when his eyes fell on to the horrible texture and colour of the burn on her forehead.

He gasped, shocked, and promptly let her drop to the floor.

Yamcha sighed in relief, for a second there he was sure that Gohan meant to kill her, and despite everything she had just done, he felt that it wouldn't be right. She wasn't exactly a super powered Android hell bent on the destruction of the planet. She was just a girl with a killer's instinct. The law should be the one to deal with her.

Videl coughed and heaved, one hand touching the bruised skin on her neck, the other supporting her weight on the floor as she practically scrambled away from him like a wounded animal. She had seen her death in his eyes, and for the life of her, she still didn't understand why he hadn't followed through.

Gohan took a few deep calming breathes himself, something about that horrible burn on her face had just about cleared his fog of blood-lust, extinguishing his anger.

"I think I'm getting some feeling back in my fingers, why don't we just call the police and have them pick her up?"

Yamcha darted his eyes between Gohan and the girl, he just wanted this whole mess over and done with, preferably without someone dying.

In a flash Gohan squatted down to her level. He tilted her chin with his finger, forcing her to look up at him.

"My father gave his life, so the people could live in peace, not so that people like you can hunt them down." He tightened his grip on her chin "Do not disrespect his memory. Come near me and my friends again with your silly little toys, and I'll kill you" he told her as he released her chin, straightening to his full height.

Videl was undecided about what to do. Was he seriously letting her go? Or did he want to give her false hope, only to shoot her in the back? She didn't know, but she didn't want to hang around and find out, lest he brings out another ball of fire to her face.

_You lied daddy. That was no light-trick. It would have burned through me faster than those flames ever did._

She didn't even bother with her belongings; it's not as if anything she had brought with her could identify her. Still struggling for breath, she pushed her limits and forced her throbbing body to push up off the floor, as she staggered out the apartment.

"You gonna be okay, Yamcha?" Gohan suddenly dropped his super-saiyan form as he helped his old comrade off the floor.

"I don't know Gohan, I think she shredded me down there. Scared to even look. Thanks for coming man, I owe you one."

"How did this even happen Yamcha? I don't understand how she got close enough to drug you. Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"That she-devil? No way!" Yamcha exclaimed heatedly "I don't date smokers, or blue-eyed bitches" he said bitterly "I was at the club with a few friends, got kinda drunk, wasn't really paying attention to anything when I came home. Guess she must have used something to knock me out, 'cause when I came to, she'd made herself at home, ready to drown me." He chuckled at the memory, happy to feel some feeling in his toes as well.

"Why didn't you just restrain her or knock her out from the word go?" Gohan had to ask

"Ah come on Gohan, she was a pretty girl, I thought it wouldn't hurt to play her game a bit, you know, just for fun. Besides, she kept asking about you and I was kinda curious as to what she wanted. Didn't think it was your head. Damn, talk about deadly...anyway, she managed to stab me with that damn pin of hers, and the next thing I knew, I couldn't move. Sorry I got you into this." He said sheepishly

"That's alright. When I got your messages, I imagined all kinds of things, aliens, monsters, androids…you know" he smiled, "Wait till I tell the guys that you got your ass kicked by a girl even mom could take out without even trying." He laughed out loud at the horrified expression on the older man's face. "Come, I'll fly you to Krilin's, he's got some sensu's." Gohan began to hoist him up.

"Err...you think we could go to the Lookout instead. I would prefer it if Krilin and the others didn't know about this." He felt like such a fool, he just knew he'd never hear the end of it. Not that he spent that much time with the old gang anyway, everyone had kinda moved on.

"Sure Yamcha, I'm sure Dende won't mind" said Gohan, as he took off with the ex baseball player in his arms.

...

The sun was already up, and Videl was standing before her mirror, staring at the ugly bruise on her neck through red eyes from the rupture of her capillaries during the strangulation.

She had rented a run-down apartment a few blocks from Yamcha's so she could keep an eye on him, figure out his ins and outs, his patterns and routines, before she had made her move.

_I clearly underestimated him, not to mention the target._ She thought, as she unscrewed the cap of the ointment she had dredged out of her kit, applying the cream generously around her neck.

_You should have killed me while you had the chance delivery-boy, you may be impervious to bullets, but I doubt you're immortal._

She wrapped a bandage around her neck, just to give her fractured larynx a bit of support for a few days, and reached for the bottle of capsules on the basin.

_Everyone has a weakness, what lives, must die. It's the order of the universe. The next time we meet, I won't hesitate either._ She thought, remembering his not so subtle threat.

She uncapped the bottle and tossed a few pills down her throat, wincing as they went down the severely bruised muscles of her esophagus. A bitter frown on her face, she pulled out a brush and began fixing her hair, wondering how long the red petechia spots would take to disappear. They were on her chin and under her eyes, scattered on her skin like angry freckles. Satisfied that all her ugly parts were properly hidden, she moved out of the bathroom and assembled the satellite.

The fuzzy image of her boss appeared on the screen with a bit of white noise, before it cleared.

"You look charming agent, what the fuck happened?" her voice greeted dryly

"I put six bullets in his head and he's still walking, didn't even feel them. What the fuck is he?" her voice was incapable of its usual bite, it came out hoarse and barely audible, making the muscles in her throat throb even more

"No one knows. How will you proceed agent?" her boss enquired

"Carefully. I need access to VR66" she cleared her throat

"Agent Tan. That virus is air-borne, how do you propose to contain it?" her boss frowned

"I have a plan." She said tersely

"Permission granted. I caution you agent. Biological weapons have a way of getting out of hand. Be very careful how you play this."

"I will" she said, and cut off the feed.

She opened a different window on her screen, getting back to her surveillance of the baseball star.

She had been in his apartment before, several times actually, going through his stuff, hoping that something would lead her to the identity of the delivery-boy. But she didn't exactly uncover a folder with 'the secret identity of the delivery-boy' written on it in her search. And so she had settled on planting little surveillance devices here and there, hoping to see or hear something.

That hadn't worked either. The only thing she had discovered was that he was bordering on alcoholism, that he didn't really do anything for a living, and that he enjoyed romantic comedies. She had also made the discovery that he never brought the same girl back to his apartment, and that sometimes when he was really hammered, he brought out old photographs of the Capsule Corp. heiress, muttering incomprehensible curses.

Growing tired of watching his pitiful routine, after watching him for over a month, she had decided to go in and 'extract' the information from him through force.

_That worked out great._She muttered bitterly, as she touched her throbbing throat, before opening her screen and switching on her speakers to see if there were any interesting developments.

…

Gohan found it difficult to concentrate at the meeting. The business developer had laid out a well written and detailed presentation about the pros and cons of expanding the mine, but his mind was busy on other thoughts.

He had grabbed a quick breakfast with Yamcha after they left the lookout, arranging to meet on Saturday to talk things over, since he was in a rush to get to his office, to make it in time for this meeting.

He cast his eyes up at the figures on the screen and bit the corner of his lower-lip. It was no use, he couldn't keep his mind on the numbers and off the girl.

Compared to him, she had been so weak, he could have blown her away by sneezing on her, there really was no reason for him to have manhandled her with as much force as he had. He should have just tied her up and have Yamcha call the police to have her taken away. It would have been the right thing to do. But damn it, she had shot him! Shot him! Several times, in the head, she was a killer and a skilled one at that, maybe he should have just killed her, right then and there.

If she killed again because he had let her go, that would be on him, and the thought made his breakfast churn about in his stomach.

Who the hell was she? And why the hell did she want the delivery-boy dead? Sure, he had blown up his share of manufacturing plants, probably bankrupted a lot of businesses, but could they have hired someone to kill him for that?

Well, he supposed it was a possibility. People killed for far less, he supposed

_If she kills again, it's on me._

He shook his head again at the memory of the intense fear that had suddenly gripped her, when he had brought the ki ball close to her face. He supposed he understood why she had such a phobia to fire, after seeing that burn on her forehead, but for the life of him, he had never heard of an arsonphobiac that smoked. It was pretty bizarre.

Tilting his head, he could see the rest of his management team nodding their heads vigorously at a particular slide, and sighed. He should really be paying more attention to what they seemed to be in agreement about. This project was going to cost the company millions, and he always liked to stay on top of all major expenditure.

_You wouldn't be proud of how I handled that situation dad, that's why I can't stop thinking about it._

…

Early on Saturday morning, Gohan made his way across the lawn to his mother's house. His mom always outdid herself on Saturday and Sunday mornings, he wondered if he'd ever meet a nice homely girl who could cook as well as his mom.

He flushed at the thought. He didn't really know that many girls, apart from his employees, and sometimes he wondered if this fear of talking to them would still plague him if he had actually gone to high-school and interacted with them on a normal day to day basis.

By the time he got to university, he was pretty much a loner, drowned out in the masses of the hundreds of students that went about their business. It had been a bitter disappointment, since a part of him had secretly hoped that he'd make some friends and maybe even a nice girl.

That had never happened.

He would just attend his lectures and fly home. He played a lot with his brother when he wasn't out with Trunks or studying, but mostly he would just close in himself in his room and study.

With each passing year, he saw less and less of his brother. Goten was growing up and the peace and tranquility of his family home started to lose its appeal as he became less interested in training and rummaging through the forest, and became more interested in movies and video-games and going out into the city with Trunks.

Life got lonelier, so he started training again, if only to relieve some of the tension he felt building up inside him. He found that the more he trained the less he felt the urge to close himself in his room and masturbate.

Kissing his mom on the forehead, he ruffled Goten's hair as he took his place on the table.

"Hey squirt. How was your first week of school?" he asked his brother

"It was awesome!" Goten declared, his face radiating happiness "At first I was pretty bummed, cause I'm not in any of Trunks's classes cause he's more senior, but the kids in my class are pretty cool also, so it's not so bad"

"That's good to hear Goten, I'm happy things are working out" he smiled at his brother

"Yeah, you should'a let Gohan go to school mum, he would'a liked it" Goten said

"Nuh. I'm cool." Gohan dismissed the comment, grabbing a plateful of pancakes to dull the ache that had suddenly sprang from nowhere

Chichi eyed her son with a heavy heart. _You're right Goten, I shouldn't have kept him here._She lamented

"Any plans for the weekend Gohan?" she asked lamely, knowing his answer. Have to work this weekend, have to train this weekend. What else was new?

"Actually, I'm meeting Yamcha at Satan Stadium, he's decided to volunteer as a baseball coach, I'm stepping in as his assistant" he shocked his mom and Goten

"Y-You…y-you're going to coach baseball?" Chichi stared

"Yeah. Why not? I need a break from working and training. Besides, it will be good to catch up with Yamcha" he shrugged

"That's nice dear, I'm glad you're doing something different for a change."

"I'll be out for dinner tonight as well mom. Yamcha's rounding up a few of his friends to see if any of them would be interested in joining the coaching as well, I might throw in a sponsorship if all goes well." He warned her in advance so she wouldn't have to cook a larger meal than was necessary

"Dinner with friends sounds lovely. Since Goten also has plans, I think I'll probably visit Papa and catch up with some old friends" she said, as she placed the last platter of food on the table

…

Videl lay with a warm cloth on her neck, her eyes closed, a bottle of painkillers and a nip of whiskey by her bedside table. She had aches in places she didn't even think a person could ache. It had been a few days since the incident, and yet, her normal voice was still not back, and this stupid warm cloth wrapped around her neck didn't seem to be helping.

The video footage of Yamcha was restricted to his apartment, so as soon as he'd left, clad in his baseball gear, she had gone back to bed, speakers on, just listening in on his activities from the device she had planted on one of his bottoms.

She had had to turn the volume down a bit when he arrived at what could only be described as a congregation of snot nosed little brats. The kids were screaming and talking all at once, making her ears wince.

Thankfully he had sent them off to change into their gear, allowing her a moment of peace and quiet when…

"You made it!" Yamcha greeted enthusiastically, clad in his baseball gear

"Sure did!" Gohan beamed, he felt excited for some reason, he was really looking forward to this.

"The kids are already out on the field. How did your meeting go by the way?" he still felt a bit bad for keeping the younger man out all night because he failed to handle himself

"It was okay, I made it just in time."

"Say Gohan, you didn't tell anybody about what happened did ya?" he had to ask

"Heh he he…nuh, it wouldn't be such a good idea, if I told someone, it could get back to mom, and you know how that would go down…" he didn't have to say anything more, everyone knew how protective Chichi was of her precious little boy, who was a grown man now, but would always be a little boy in his mothers eyes.

"Tell me about, I would hate to be in that girls shoes for sure. Chichi would whoop her something nasty for shooting her precious little boy, not once, but several times over in the head" Yamcha smirked at the reference

In her apartment Videl suddenly bolted upright. Could it be? Could he really be talking to the Delivery-Boy? It had to be right? Unless he had several friends who could walk around after being shot several times in the head.

She jumped from the bed and grabbed her computer. It was time to run some variables. Variable one – first name : Gohan

"Aw come on Yamcha, she doesn't call me that anymore." Gohan said sheepishly, embarrassed, by the 'precious little boy' reference

"Yeah right Gohan, hate to break it to you bud, but you'll always be a little boy in her eyes, no matter how old you get, how many super powered Androids you defeat, or how many uranium mines you run." He laughed, patting Gohan on the arm

"You're right Yamcha, ah…look, here comes the kids. Shall we get started?"

"Yep, let's get this show on the road" Yamcha agreed.

In her apartment, Videl was ecstatic, she had lots of variables to work with now. First name - Gohan, mothers name - Chichi, profession - mining, narrowed down to uranium mining.

She ran the variables through her computer and waited impatiently while it did a search.

"Gotcha" she smirked, when the results of the search finally came back.

He had dark hair, and dark eyes, soft gentle eyes, a huge contrast to the hard and cold ones he had bestowed upon her that night, but still, once you've cast your eyes upon the devil himself, you can recognize him anywhere, no matter his disguise.

"You can wear a wig and coloured contacts all you want Delivery-Boy, I can still tell that it's you." she spoke to the image on the screen

"Son Gohan, it's a pleasure to finally know who I'm dealing with"

…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is being brought to you by Gue22, Mikey H and Saiyajin-Love**

We don't own DBZ

…

Three weeks later, and the bruising on her neck was starting to fade. It still felt stiff though, and her voice was still somewhat raspy. She propped a brown cushion behind her as she reclined fully into the couch, her legs outstretched with her petite feet – bare, touching the coffee table. She was casually dressed in slacks and an oversized t-shirt with her hair falling in a mess all over her face. With a hot mug of coffee cradled in her hands, she tilted her head in an angle to get her fringe out of the way and cast her eyes to the giant projection screen in front of her.

It had taken her three weeks to find the opportunity to sneak into the target's and his mother's houses to plant her surveillance equipment. With everything in place, she was finally able to observe and listen, and hopefully learn something she could use against this seemingly indestructible individual.

She took a sip of her coffee and watched as if she was at the movies as the dark haired mother, continued to hum a happy tune as she poured a mixture of swirling melted chocolate into the egg, sugar and flour mix. She now knew that her name was Chichi, ex-princess warrior of a small and obscure kingdom in the East. She knew that she was now a widow of the legendary ex-martial arts champion Son Goku. She knew that the woman had never re-married, choosing to live a quiet life raising her two sons: Gohan and Goten.

"Mom, it's me!" A voice she now recognized as belonging to the target, announced cheerfully, followed by the soft click of a closing door. She frowned, taking another sip of her steaming coffee. _Pretty damn cheerful for a murderer aren't we?_

"I'm in the kitchen sweetie," the mother announced equally as cheerful. _Sweetie? Yeah right, he's about as sweet as piss_. Videl scoffed from her couch, subconsciously touching her neck. There had been nothing _sweet_, about the way he'd strangled her.

"Hi mom," Gohan stepped into the kitchen and kissed the top of his mom's head. "Where's the little squirt?" he enquired as he tried to sneak a finger into the dark and inviting swirl of chocolate.

From her position on the couch, Videl had to admit, the mixture looked pretty damn good, and it wasn't even cooked yet.

"Oh no you don't!" Chichi slapped his hand away from the bowl and continued to fold in the chocolate with her wooden spoon. She sighed dramatically, making a pout with her lips. "Your brother is still not back from school yet." She spoke with a disapproving tone. "Imagine! At this time! I swear, those city types are a bad influence on him."

Videl took the time to familiarize herself with the target's features. She knew a lot of 'facts' about him, but despite owning and running the top uranium group of mines in the world, she had been unable to uncover any personal information about him. No school records, no history with women or men, no known hobbies or interests except for the recently acquired baseball sub-couching. She had uncovered nothing at all that she could use to build up a proper 'profile'.

As her eyes continued to follow his movements, she noted that without his bluish-green contact lenses, and without the blonde dye or wig in his hair, he didn't appear to be all that scary. In fact she actually found him to be quiet pleasing to the eye. He was dressed immaculately in a business suit, just like in all the pictures she had seen of him.

"I'm sure he's just with Trunks," Gohan said, as he slipped off his suit jacket, placing it neatly on a coat hanger, and then he proceeded to tug at his tie. Videl watched his movements involuntarily, as he worked a few buttons of his shirt, leaving them unbuttoned where his tie now hung loose. She especially found herself enjoying the scene as he began to fold up the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows. There was something about him that made her want to continue watching, mission or no mission. "Sexy bastard", she muttered bitterly, shifting slightly on her couch.

"You make it sound like Trunks is a good influence Gohan, he's just as bad, if not worse than the rest of them city kids." The mother continued to complain about her youngest. "Anyway, how was your day? You're home a bit early."

Videl glanced at the chart she had made about his routine, and concluded that yes, his mother was correct. It was Thursday today; and that meant that he should have only been home around eight, not five.

"Long," was the target's response to his mother's question as he walked towards a cupboard, pulling out a big box of cereal.

"Is everything okay?" Chichi stopped her stirring and glanced at her son.

"The new site has been cleared for in-situ leaching, which is perfect for minimizing risk for the workers, but I was looking at the clearance documents and I saw that they haven't even accounted for possible underwater contamination. Going in like that would just be reckless, potentially poisonous to the land." He shook his head as he poured two cartons of milk into the large bowl. "I had to fire our engineering consultants this afternoon since they were cutting corners."

"That must have been tough sweetie." Chichi sympathized.

"Well luckily my HR manager is really good at confrontations; I just sat in the background trying to look stern." he smiled, and began to shove cereal in his mouth with what Videl could only classify as a serving spoon. _I thought he was going to feed some birds or chickens or pets or something with all that cereal, he's actually eating it? Oh my goodness look at him, that's kinda gross!_

"What's her name again?" Chichi dipped her finger into the mixture to test it.

"My…HR…manager?" Gohan mumbled through crunches.

"Yes, I remember now. Talia! She's the really cute one you were eyeing during last year's employee award ceremony, isn't she?" she asked as she cast a sly look at her already blushing son.

Videl raised a brow when she saw his reaction. The blush on his face deepening, Gohan diverted his eyes away from his mom's and focused instead on the inside of his bowl. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I was not eyeing Talia last year mom, she is my employee."

_What's this, big bad delivery-boy has a crush? Hmm, better note her name, might have to use her as leverage if it becomes necessary._ Videl beamed from the couch.

"You can't fool your mother Gohan, besides, it's time to find a nice girl to settle down with. I think Talia is perfect for you," the mother spoke while bending down to pull out an oven dish.

"These days you seem to think that all my female employees are perfect for me," Gohan grumbled as he picked up the bowl and downed the remnants of the milk that was left behind.

_Holy! Did he just eat ALL that cereal? And No wonder he's got a whole pantry full of the stuff in his own house. _Videl stared in awe.

"Only because you don't have any female acquaintances outside the office dear. It's unhealthy," chastised the mother.

_Are you secretly gay and ashamed of it Delivery-Boy? How come there is no record or photograph or scandal involving you and a woman? At twenty-four, with your looks, success and money, that's unheard of._ Videl made a note to look into the possibility that the target was secretly gay and ashamed.

"I don't have time to socialize outside the workplace mom; things are really tight right now. We have not met all our orders from last month. I've been dealing with enraged clients all day." Gohan said to quickly change the focus of the conversation from his love life to that of work as he stood up from his chair and brought the now empty bowl back with him to the counter.

"What kind of greedy and lazy workers do you have? Why take orders if you know you can't meet them?" Chichi practically shrieked. She hated things that were sloppy or out of order.

Videl paled when she saw him reach for yet another unopened box of cereal. "It's technically not the sales departments fault. It's just that…without Goten going underground with his super-speed after hours, we didn't bring in as much ore as we usually do this past month." He sighed as he emptied the contents of the second cereal box into his bowl, "I guess I'll have to do it myself from now on. I can go in on weekends until we've covered the outstanding orders."

_Super-Speed? Your little brother Goten has the ability to move as fast as you? Is he also a danger and a menace to society? _Videl wondered as she took another sip of her coffee. _I hope he doesn't mean that they actually put the kid underground in the mines, does he?_

"No Gohan, you will not waste your weekends to go underground, especially not now that you're couching those kids," the mother sternly said as she glanced at the clock. "I warned your brother, but he hasn't listened, this is the fifth time in a row that he's not home on time. This weekend, there will be nothing but the dark and dingy underground of the mine for him. He can forget that party he's been going on about."

Videl scowled at the dark haired mothers words. Especially considering how hotly she had spoken them. _Who are these people, this woman would let her son go underground in a mine? Is she crazy? Doesn't she have any idea how dangerous that is? I might have to report her to social services when this mission is over. _She dropped her legs from the table and placed her steaming mug on it.

Quickly she made a note of this fact.

"Aw, mom, come on, Goten's been looking forward to that party for two weeks straight. Please don't do that to him," Gohan pleaded on his brother's behalf as he emptied another two cartons of milk into the bowl. "He can still go underground _and_ bring back enough ore to fill the orders _and_ go to the party. It will be a cinch," he concluded as he moved back to sit down, and began to practically inhale his cereal.

"Hmnn" was Chichi's only response as she poured the chocolate mixture into a large oven dish.

_Even if Goten has this super-speed like his brother, the mine could cave in on him, what use would the speed be then? Besides, he's just a little kid! He shouldn't be forced to do manual labour this dangerous, it's illegal! Now, I definitely have to report this family to social services_. She decided, her face wrinkling in disgust. _Just as soon as I kill Gohan, I'm reporting you Chichi. _

A loud bang, followed by some cracking and the sound of splintering wood suddenly filled the household.

"Son Goten, you better have not broken down another one of my doors!" Chichi shrieked as she closed the oven and rushed to the scene.

Indeed a trembling Goten was breathing heavily in the threshold, bits and pieces of wood that used to be a door strewn about behind him. He was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt with 'monster' printed across it. His school bag carelessly hanging on his shoulders.

"Goten!" Chichi yelled, her eyes blazing with fury. But the fury was quickly relinquished, her eyes softening when she saw the pitiful look on her son's face. "What's the matter Goten? Did something happen?" she asked worriedly. Goten was such a carefree and cheerful kid, hardly anything ever got him down.

"Third," sniff, "Class," sniff sniff, "Trash." He managed to get the words out, even though his throat felt heavy and raw. Shakily, he pulled his bag from his shoulders and without realizing it, slightly slammed it on the table. The vase of flowers shook for a second, but settled. "That's what he called me, in front of EVERYONE!" he said the last word hysterically, as he rammed his head into the wall as if in shame.

"Goten!" Chichi shrieked again as she quickly advanced towards her distraught son.

Videl sputtered her coffee when his head punctured straight through the paint, the cement-plastering, the insulation and the bricks. As soon as he pulled it out, a head sized hole remained with floury bits of debris cascading down to the floor.

Videl's mouth was left hanging to the floor.

"Sweetie, you know better than to listen to Trunks' rougue of a father, now come and sit down, and tell mummy all about it." Chichi dusted of the white of the chalk and the grey of cement from his forehead and steadily guided him to the table.

"Mom's right Goten, you know better than to take Vegeta seriously." Gohan added, he too sitting down in his chair to listen to Goten's tale.

Goten stole a look at the hole he'd just made. "Sorry, didn't mean to hit it so hard." He said dejectedly, his eyes fixed at the damage, as a piece of chalk fell out of his spiky hair. "It wasn't Vegeta, it was…" his pouty lip trembled…"Trunks…" he said the name so softly, Chichi almost didn't hear it.

"Trunks?" Chichi exclaimed in shock on her son's behalf.

"It means nothing Goten, you shouldn't let him get to you like this." Gohan put his arm around his brother's shoulders, trying to comfort him.

"He's supposed to be my best friend, but he sold me out, calling me names, just so he'd look cool in front of Pinpin." He rubbed his eyes. "I'm tired of all his boasting. I know his father is the prince of all Saiyans, which makes him a prince too I guess, but why does he have to rub it in my face when all my friends are around?" He cast his eyes pleadingly to his mother, as if she could offer him a suitable explanation. But Chichi's face…if looks could kill. Trunks would definitely drop down wherever he stood.

"Maybe it's not about rubbing it in your face, but about impressing the others Goten," Gohan tried the diplomatic approach.

"If only" Goten shook his head, "he said…" his voice cracked, "…he said…that dad was nothing but throw away trash, a disgrace to all Saiyans and that you and I…are no better." He practically whimpered.

_Saiyan…Saiyan. What's a Saiyan?_ Videl wondered as she grabbed her laptop and began a general search for the term 'Saiyan'

"He said WHAT? My Goku? Throw away Trash?" Chichi's fury reached its peak. "That's it! I'm going over there right now to teach that purple haired foul mouthed brat a lesson," She exploded, her face contorting in murderous intent.

"Mom, will you just calm down please. I'm sure Trunks was just kidding Goten, come on." Gohan had two to try and soothe down now, and something told him that it would be easier with Goten than with his mother.

"It's fine for you Gohan, you don't know what's it's like to have your entire class chant 'trash, trash, trash' every time you pass by. It's humiliating!" He raised his voice by a slight inflection, "You may like to be insulted, but I don't. Trunks knew what he was doing; he said it out of spite, because Pinpin said she'd go to the party with me and not him. He was angry because he was used to getting all the cute girls all to himself before I joined his school." Goten breathed heavily as he relayed his story. "Well, I wasn't gonna stand by and take it. My father was a hero, not trash, and I am _not_ trash, joke or no joke." He balled his fist as he made his statement. "I blasted him straight into the school wall." His eyes suddenly blazed with fire in remembrance, "But…" his voice cracked again, as he cast his eyes down to avoid making contact with his mother with his next sentence."The flimsy wall broke, so I kinda got into trouble…which is not fair!" he said heatedly like a cheated man. "Which is why I'm so late today, I got detention and this…" he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it over to his brother sheepishly.

He dared not look at his mother.

"Son Goten." Chichi glared down at her son. "It was wrong for Trunks to insult you and your father but…Y-You…you used your powers at school over a silly girl?" Videl was enthralled by the scene, she barely remembered being thirteen. She had been stubborn and hot headed, but it was all directed towards martial arts, not boys, like Erasa had been.

A pang of guilt and sadness suddenly overcame her, when she thought of her childhood friend. She remembered watching 'Videl Satan's' funeral on the news a few days following the building explosion and fire, and the memory of how her friend had sobbed non-stop for her, still haunted her. Subconciously, she touched the scab of tough skin across her forehead.

_I'm sorry Erasa, but after what happened to me and to…all those innocent people, I could never go back to being the friend that you grew up with. The friend that you knew._

Gohan read the note from the principal. It said that Goten was being held liable for all the damages sustained during the 'incident' with Trunks Briefs. An invoice was already attached, and Gohan cringed at the amount.

His head still hung in shame, Goten could only apologise. The damage was already done. "I'm sorry mom, I don't know what happened, when he said those things about dad, I just…I don't know, lost it I guess," he said apologetically.

Chichi took a deep calming breath and softly spoke with her hands on Goten's shoulders, "I gave you a chance to go to high-school like you asked, a chance I never gave to your brother. You promised to be careful, no powers. And now…you just blew it. I know Trunks hasn't made it easy for you, but you should have had more control Goten. I'm sorry son, but you leave me no choice. It's over, from now on it's back to home schooling for you."

It took a moment for her words to fully register in his mind. And when it finally clicked, Goten couldn't stop his voice from stammering, "W-What?"

"I said that you'll continue to be home schooled from now on," Chi-Chi repeated.

"That's not fair mom!" Goten shrieked as he rose from his seat, a loud screech erupting as his chair scraped against the floor.

"I'm sorry Goten, but I can't risk having you running around the city blowing things up with your super-powers, it's dangerous!"

"It's not my fault that I have these powers mom. It's not my fault that dad was an ALIEN. It's not fair!" he cried before he stormed off to his room; not giving a now stunned Chi-Chi a chance at any more words.

Videl choked on her coffee and jumped as she lost her balance on her mug, the hot coffee spilling onto her thighs. _Aw Crap._ She winced, as she began to dab at her slacks where the hot coffee had blotted and burned her.

Tossing the napkin aside, she wasn't even bothered to check the damage. It was probably just a superficial burn. She ignored the slight stinging and stared at the findings of her internet search.

Her mouth dropped wide open.

Coupled with what the young teenager had just blurted about having a father for an alien, Videl bit her lip as she digested what she was reading and closed her mouth.

There were only three hits for the term 'Saiyan', and they all revolved around 'The East City Massacre' caused by the alien invasion of years back. She had been about five years old then, so she had no idea about the details, but sure enough, one reporter who'd spoken directly with someone called Yajirobe in an interview, had written that that the rather fat member of the earth's special forces had referred to the aliens as 'Saiyans'. None of his claims were ever substantiated, as he, the alien's spaceships and all other evidence of the alien attack had just vanished.

Videl continued to watch the antics of the family as she connected her satellite.

"Agent, you're looking better." Her boss commented when his face appeared on screen.

"Nice of you to say," she said dryly. She knew she still looked like shit.

"Progress?" he prompted.

"Some. I know what he is now, at least," was her response.

"Don't keep me in suspense agent, I'm a busy man," he said impatiently, already glancing at his watch.

"Eighteen years ago, the alien invasion. How much data do we have on the incident?"

"The massacre of East City?"

"The very one."

"I'll send you everything the agency has. He's an alien?" he enquired evenly.

"Half, it seems his mother is human and his father Son Goku, a hero in his own right before he disappeared, was some kind of alien; the same species as the ones from the invasion. I'm still looking into it."

"Interesting," her boss scratched at his chin. "Either way agent, you have the VR66, will it work on this alien half-breed?" he said the last words with contempt and repugnance.

"I think I have an idea on how to administer the virus without risking an outbreak."

"Good. Get it done. I want that abomination terminated as soon as possible," was the curt reply before the connection cut.

_You and me both._ Videl thought as she once more directed her eyes towards the scene of the Son household.

…

As Gohan approached his house in the middle of the woods, his mind once again turned to the assassin that had attacked Yamcha just three weeks earlier. His thoughts particularly lingered on her terrified reaction when he'd brought his ki ball close to her face. The way her body had tensed in fear, and especially the way her facial features had instantly contorted to that of a deer caught by headlights, was burned into his soul. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't forget the incident or her.

"That's just life biting her back for all the lives she's probably taken in the past," Gohan said to himself, doing his best to justify his less than gentle actions of that day as he attempted to suppress down the feeling of guilt that always erupted with those memories. Very quickly he flooded his mind with random thoughts about Goten.

_I wonder how the squirt manages all that social pressure? It's sure isn't something for me. I'm grateful that I didn't have to go through high school drama! _He thought, comforting himself, trying to forget how he had begged his mother, to no avail. Matter of fact, maybe he shouldn't be thinking about Goten's situation now. Maybe he should focus more on himself.

When was the last time he'd let loose?

A smirk came across his lips at the thought.

"Making … final … approach," Gohan playfully yelled as he made his advance on the two households in front of him, allowing his body to free-fall from the sky.

"Gohan! Stop playing around and come down! Are you insane?" Chichi screamed as she saw her son fall to the ground with intense speed. She knew he would be fine but the thought of losing yet another one of her boys was always pushing at the back of her mind. After all, that was why she had kept Gohan homeschooled in the first place instead of allowing him out more. To keep him close, to keep him safe.

Gohan pouted like a child and straightened out his limbs just before touching down, landing with both finesse and style. He looked eagerly to the skies, trying to determine the length of his free fall but was abruptly interrupted by his enraged mother poking a finger into his chest.

"Son Gohan, are you trying to give me a heart attack, free falling from the sky like that?" she yelled in his face.

"Mom come on! Even if I fell, it's not like I'd hurt myself," he tried to reason, hoping that his mother would see his point, while flashes of a time when he had the freedom to let loose and be a kid entered his mind.

His mother's facial features had changed so little over the years. He could still see the young woman who had desperately tried to put up with two hyper Saiyans all those years ago. Thinking about it now, he was rather proud to be her son. Not only had her perseverance helped him in battle, but also in life. All those times he had to stand by himself without the support of his loving father, he had drawn strength from her strength, and he knew that it would someday help his younger brother Goten too. It still ate at him that his brother never knew their father.

_Dad… you would have been so prou…._ Gohan was just thinking to himself, when he suddenly yelped, being cut off by a painful pull on his ear.

"Mooom! That hurts!" Gohan yelled indignantly. He was a grown man. She shouldn't be treating him like a child!

"It hurts does it? Good!" She huffed, "You think I enjoy being scared half to death by you and your brother's stunts?" She glared at him.

"It was perfectly safe mom; you know I was in no real dang...ah...AH! MOM!" She dragged him all the way to the door by the tip of his earlobe.

"Okay, Okay, no more stunts!" He gave in, waving his arms wildly in front of him to signal his compliance.

"You know I only want you to be safe sweetie." And just like that, Chichi went from angry to sickly nice in seconds.

"And by the way, what are you doing home so early?" Chi-Chi questioned. Her eyes glanced over his disheveled appearance, making her face wrinkle as she cried, "And why is your suit so dirty?"

"You se…" he began to scratch at his head.

"There's no excuse! You are the CEO! You have to keep up your appearance!" Chi-Chi interrupted as she poked his chest.

"But mom I.."

"Do you know what people will say about you when you don't dress nicely? They'll say, 'Oh, look at that Son Gohan. He's nice, smart, and handsome but how can he walk around looking like that? His mother probably didn't raise him right.' I refuse to have someone say things like that!" Chi-Chi scolded.

"I doubt someone would say…"

"Now, listen here. While I go off to the grocery store, you-" she poked him with her finger, "are going to march right into your house and bathe. And then I want to see you in some decent clothes when I get back to cook dinner! Understand?" Chi-Chi stated as she eyed Gohan carefully.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, what were you saying?" Chi-Chi asked with a smile.

He just about rubbed his temples in frustration, but that would bring up another scolding session. Instead, Gohan simply answered, "It's nothing mom. I'm going to shower now."

"I'll be back in a few." ChiChi said before leaving Gohan to go into his own house.

He unlocked the door, happy to be in his own space. Once he'd closed it behind him, his body sagged as he leaned against the wooden frame. He closed his eyes and sighed.

He could've easily told his mother that the number of infuriated clients had increased significantly. Their phone lines had been ringing off the hook all day, and his customer service operators had long since run out of credible excuses. In order to deal with the crises created by the shortage of supply, he had left his pristine office for a while and went under.

For two hours his golden haired persona with it's electrifying blue ki had easily zipped and zapped about in the muggy underground. In that short period, he had obtained enough ore to satisfy two-thirds of his clients' orders.

But then again, telling his mother that would have involved another LONG conversation in which Goten would have been brought up.

He'd had a busy day taking care of the manual aspects of his mine. It was no wonder he was covered in filth, not to mention exhausted. Plus… sniff..sniff, Gohan lifted his arms up and cringed when the rancid smell of his own sweat greeted him.

_Ew. I guess I really do need to take a bath. _He realized, as he headed off to the bathroom.

As he made his way, a set of eyes were following his every move from miles away in the city. This blue set of observant and curious eyes followed him like a hawk hovering in the air as its prey trots below. She smirked, bringing the rim of her mug to the tip of her lips. Savoring its flavor, she waited for the moment she desired the most.

_Hmph. Coming home so early. You don't even know that you've shortened your time to live. Soon, you'll finally get what…_Videl's thoughts came to an abrupt halt as Gohan slung his jacket across the foot end of his bed. He moved his hands to his chest and gradually moved his fingers to undo the buttons of his shirt...one...at...a...time.

Videl leaned in and gulped, when his crisp white shirt fell open, revealing his chiseled chocolate bar chest.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion now. Videl found her head coming closer and closer to her monitor, her eyes following his every move. Once his hands had reached the bottom of his shirt, he slipped his arms out and tossed it to the floor. The sun from his bedroom window peeked through the curtains, making his smooth pecs and abs glisten as he proceeded to move his hand towards his pants.

Starting from the top rim, he pushed his pants down, revealing his stripped boxers. Little by little, his fingers moved up to its elastic hem, until they finally gripped it. Videl swallowed, her eyes glued to the screen. Gohan gradually tugged down on his boxers until….

BAAM

Videl shut her laptop with her heart thudding against her chest. She was struggling to catch her breath. She opened her laptop again with her hands covering her eyes as she sighed.

_What am I now, some freaking pervert? And over such a disgusting bastard. _Videl bitterly thought, as she moved her hands off her eyes to rub the temples of her forehead. _I'll just wait for him to finish bathing before I continue my surveillance. _

A few minutes later, a wet-haired Gohan stepped out of the bathroom. Making his way across his kitchen, he couldn't help but sniff at the air. There was a smell that didn't quiet belong. A smell like…like her_. _

In the shower, he hadn't sensed any ki. So how could her scent linger in the air? Had she been in his house? Or was he thinking about her to the point of imagining her scent? Why hadn't he picked up on this earlier?

He cranked the joints in his neck, and opened the fridge. Even if she had been in his house, so what? There was nothing she could do to him. He reached in and pulled out two gallons of milk. Carrying one in each hand he placed them on the table before strolling over to the cabinet to pile three cereal boxes in one arm as he grabbed a huge mixing bowl and a ladle in the other.

He plopped down at the table with all three boxes and began to empty the contents, pouring the gallons of milk into the bowl. He started to munch on his food, pondering on the remaining orders, and all the emails that were waiting for him to attend to.

_I have to make sure I look into...cough…_cough_… _Gohan covered his mouth and cleared his throat before he continued to chew. Soon he was done with his snack. He figured it was enough to hold him till dinner. _Now for those finances,_ he roused from his chair.

Meanwhile, Videl took another sip of her coffee.

_Hmm.. He isn't fazed yet? Can't say I'm surprised. I hope you enjoyed your last meal super-man. _She rolled the warm gush of coffee in her mouth, allowing the tantalizing aroma to sooth her. _I just hope you drop dead before your mother gets back._

Gohan typed away as he examined the graphs on his monitor. "Let's see, if I expand .." He scratched at his neck. "On the area and reinforce…" He scratched at his neck some more.. "Then we'll be able to…" He stopped talking as he rubbed his Adam's apple in an effort to soothe the sudden unbearable itchiness. Not only that, but it felt as it something was lodged in his throat. He covered his mouth with his hand as he coughed. However, that cough resulted in an abrupt migraine. His head began to throb at the temples of his forehead.

He shook his head and took a deep breath. _It's just nothing. I need to finish looking over these figures. _Gohan thought. Yet when he picked up the scatter of printed papers to resume his work, the words appeared fuzzy. He squinted his eyes, but his sight only worsened. His throat became itchier. His head began to thump as if it was his heart. His heart began to race, unable to keep up with the pace that he had started to breathe…

_What the hell is going on? Something isn't right. _He tried to get up from his seat. But a swirl of dizziness hit him as his legs wiggled, before he collapsed to the floor, grasping at his neck with one hand as the other put pressure on his forehead to lessen the migraine's pound. His pupils constricted, barely becoming noticeable. His heart wouldn't stop racing within his chest.

_What's wrong with me? _Gohan wondered as he began to cough again. But the coughs didn't want to stop this time. His stomach began to writhe on the floor as he lay on his side, putting both hands over his mouth since one wasn't enough at the moment… And then he felt it; a warm thick substance spraying upon his hands as he coughed. He opened his eyes, squinting to see. And he couldn't make out the shape of his hands, but he could see the color and smell it - his blood.

_Aw, look at that_, Videl observed casually from the comfort of her faux apartment. She was sitting on her decrepit couch, now staring at the huge projection screen with live footage of her target, since she had determined the laptop wasn't big enough for this show. _The big bad delivery-boy can bleed after all, _she smiled, taking a bite of her muffin._ Not so tough now, are you? It was fun, but I guess my job is almost over._

Gohan crawled on his hands and knees, leaving blood trails on the floor, struggling for the raspy breath that was keeping him alive. His throat burning as if a flame danced upon it. His head aching as if the next few pulses would cause a vein to burst and result in an aneurism. He could feel that his bone tissue was already softening by the way his limbs made contact with the floor.

He was dying.

_Go ahead try to call for help. You won't be able to get to a phone. And even if you do, by the time they've properly diagnosed you, you'll be nothing but a mushy rotting corpse. _Videl thought_._

He had to drag himself the rest of the way, fiercely patting on the floor to recognize the way he was going. And even though it wasn't far, it seemed like the furthest distance he had ever had to travel. Once he reached his bedroom and the edge of his bed, he reached into his jacket pocket to grab his phone. He opened his eyes one last time, but everything was completely blurred. He couldn't even make out any colors. Anxiety suddenly over swept him, as he, Son Gohan, began to panic. His fingers seemed to be pressing random buttons, but before he could press another, he went into a coughing fit with blood spreading across the carpet of his bedroom since he didn't have enough time to cover his mouth with his hands. His stomach heaved, his blood spilt, his throat inflamed, his vision gone, his head and heart failing

Just everything… He couldn't …possibly go…on…living…

Gohan's body lay un-moving and silent on the floor.

Videl smirked. _I guess it's time to call it in. _She got up from her seat and went to dial her boss.

He could see nothing but darkness. Every part of his body ached and cried for it – death. To rid himslef of all this pain. The only thing still intact was his nose…

He barely breathed through it..taking in that scent. That sweet scent…of her! Everything made sense now. How could he have not realized this earlier? How could he fall into her trap?

Now it was over.

"Hello! Gohan? Is that you? Answer me!" a feminine voice yelled through the phone.

Gohan's hand twitched.

"Gohan! I'm about to…"

"Bulma," his voice whispered as his hand moved towards the phone.

"Gohan, what is it? I'm in the middle of putting my finishing touches on this new invention."

It sent waves of pain throughout his body from speaking alone, but he answered her with a soft mumble and heavy pants, "Help….me….I've…been infected…the 66,"

"What?" Bulma exclaimed; her tone incased with awful concern from his tone, but more so from the mention of the old and rare virus. Gohan had to be mistaken, that virus was eradicated years ago.

With a deep breath that put immense pressure on his heart, he struggled to utter with his last breath, "I-I'm d-dying," before the weight of his finger pressed on a random button that coincidently ended the call.

His body convulsed as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, while his lips sputtered clots of blood from his mouth.

And then, in one final spasm, his body went limp.

…

Videl walked back to the front of the screen. She picked up the controller with one hand and held the phone with the other.

"Agent, progress?" The voice of her boss prompted.

"The target has been terminated," Videl proudly claimed, before she turned off the screen with a simple click of her controller.

And then she smiled.

…


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry for the wait folks. Here's the new chapter of Tortured Soul. Enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: Team Dragon Star does not own Db/z/gt.

Chapter 4

_**Brought to you by **Serena'darien1613** and **ShadowMajin**.**_

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><p>"<em>The target was rendered immobile and eventually succumbed to the effects of the VR66. Right now I am waiting for the contamination to dissipate before I remove the surveillance equipment."<em>

"And you're absolutely positive the target was neutralized?" the boss pressed. "It would be very unfortunate if you're jumping to assumptions Agent Tan."

There was short silence before Agent Tan replied in a clipped tone _"I've _never_ left an assignment incomplete. The Delivery Boy is dead."_

"And that's why I chose you for this assignment. I want confirmation of the body. I'll be expecting your report by tomorrow. Is that understood, Agent?"

"_That's an affirmative."_

The man closed the connection and leaned into his plush leather chair. He had full confidence that the girl had completed the assignment, but at this stage it would be foolhardy to make assumptions. The target had survived the closest thing to an apocalypse the planet had ever seen—he was not one to be trifled with. He would only rest easy when he knew there was a corpse lying on the floor of some shack in the wilderness.

The virulence of the virus would postpone the confirmation for a few more days, but he was willing to wait the time out if it meant a positive verification—and it had better be a confirmed kill. Agent Tan was his best weapon and it was only because of her that he allowed the use of this virus in the first place.

A sharp beep went off then, dragging the man out of his musings. A quick search of the room brought him nothing until the beep went off again. This time, he knew exactly where it was coming from. Swiveling in his chair, he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket, locating a specific key on instinct. Bending over, he slid the key into the keyhole of the bottom drawer and unlocked it. Pulling the drawer open, he then removed a laptop, another shrill beep being made. Setting it on his desk, he opened it and watched as the screen flickered to life, soon showing a divided screen with the silhouettes of four men.

There were no defining characteristics of the men, only that they were bathed in darkness to hide their identities.

Immediately, one of them spoke _"Is it done?"_

"It is," the boss replied. "My agent is getting final confirmation as we speak."

"_Then we should move onto Phase 2. Because of that glowing nuisance, we need to restock on our uranium stores. With him out of the way, we can reach the optimum level needed for Phase 3."_

The boss resisted the urge to groan. Each of these men were powerful in their own right. With access to stores of uranium and the ear of some of the most powerful politicians on the planet, their ultimate goal was to corner the uranium market—a cartel of refined uranium. For men considered to be visionaries in their industry, they had very little ambition.

"_Yes, yes,"_ one of them was saying, his voice coming out nasally. _"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can reap the benefits."_

"What is it you expect to happen?" the boss spoke up, his derision seeping into his voice. "You'll just make billions of dollars and get to sleep on stacks of money until the day you die? Please tell me you have something more productive in mind."

There was a silence before a third man, his voice cautious, asked _"What exactly are you getting at?"_

"Think about it. Each of you has how many tons of uranium ore stored away? And what exactly are you going to do with it, sell it to your respective governments? To other governments? Your options are very limited."

"_What exactly are you getting at?"_ the second man demanded.

"Considering your industry, you have to enrich the uranium in order for it to have some use, be it for nuclear power plants or military application. And even if you didn't, you could find ways to get a hold of such processes. So instead of working to inflate market prices, why not use that product of yours for something more ambitious."

"_What do you have in mind?"_ the first man inquired.

"It's simple really. Enrich your uranium, make as many bombs from it as you can, and point them right Central City."

"_Are you insane? What could that possibly accomplish?"_

"It would gain us leverage on the World President. We threaten to kill him and the entire population of Central City with a nuclear payload, and he'll cave in to any demand we have."

"_He'd be our puppet to control,"_ the third one commented, catching onto the boss's plan.

Yet, the man was still short of the true goal. "Better yet, get rid of him entirely and put ourselves on the throne. Nuclear power is the only power respected in this world. What government would oppose us when we can launch a nuclear missile on any city in the world? And the best part, there's nothing any government could do to retaliate. They can't risk firing their own nuclear weapons on us without the public becoming enraged. They'd practically be asking for an overthrow."

"_Couldn't they send a strike team to eliminate us though?"_ one of them asked apprehensively.

"A fair concern," the boss admitted, "but I have the best assassins in the world at my beck and call. I can order some of them to protect you while sending out the others to put targets on the various politicians in the other governments. They so much as think of striking against us and I give the order to have them killed. We'll have to make some examples of course, but they'll fall in line fairly quickly."

Once more, silence fell over the conference until the forth and last man finally spoke up. _"Your plan has merit. If it is the will of this group, I propose we begin enrichment immediately."_

A chorus of affirmation quickly followed the proclamation, much to the boss's satisfaction. This plot of theirs had suddenly made a turn for the better.

* * *

><p><em>"What's…on…happened to my…"<em>

The voices sounded so far away to Gohan. Where he was, he was surrounded by complete darkness. Not that he cared though, nothing mattered. His whole world had been like this for what felt like eons.

_"…to hurry…get me some…"_

He was comfortable. A warmth filled his entire body, almost as if he had slipped into a warm bath and was letting all of his worries soak away. There was no fear, no pain, no cause for concern. Endlessly he floated on in thin air, completely and utterly content.

_"Hold on…more blood…a little…Gohan…"_

Sounds. Muddled sounds kept reaching his ears, yet there was nothing around to cause them. Sometimes they were quiet, other times urgent. A couple even seemed louder, but he paid them no mind. He was in a good place, a nice place. There was no reason to worry.

_"I got…hurry up…in him…"_

Every once in awhile something would fade into sight. Once he saw a darkness dotted with tiny lights. Another time had a bright light beaming down on him, unknown presences scrambling around him. That one had some of those louder noises, but he wasn't too sure about it. And yet another one had this woman; she looked scared for some reason and her lips were moving, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. Each and every time though he would fade back into this comforting darkness.

_"…wrong…don't under…stand…"_

Slowly, Gohan could feel more and more of his self slipping away, somewhere in the back of his mind. There was a faint coldness that appeared somewhere in his body, but he wasn't sure which part. It seemed to be growing though and that for some reason alarmed him. Why was it getting so cold when he was so warm? Why was the warmth going away? Something about that coldness felt…felt wrong. He didn't like it.

And then he couldn't feel anything.

A beep.

There was a beep. Faint, but it was there. It disturbed him; in fact it was a little annoying to tell the truth. He could feel his eyelid squeezing, as if that would somehow quiet that beeping sound, yet it didn't. Slowly, he felt more and more of his mind awakening. Feeling appeared throughout his body, from his head to his fingertips and all the way to his toes.

Fighting against the instinct to keep his eyes closed, slowly but surely he began to peel them open as a bright light sent a burning jab into his eyes. His head hurt, though it seemed a cloud of disorientation was the cause for that. Allowing his eyelids to open until he could withstand the light, Gohan's sight began revealing his surroundings.

He was in a room—a sterile one, or so that blinding white paint on the walls made him think. He found himself lying in a bed, his body draped in soaked bed sheets. The demi-saiyan couldn't recall at all why he would be in a bed and he had a faint recollection that his bedroom wasn't painted this white. Or empty for that matter, considering he wasn't seeing any familiar furniture.

How had he gotten here?

Taking a deep breath, Gohan turned his head to the side and found to his surprise his little brother sprawled in a chair, his head tilted over the back at an uncomfortable angle. Goten was gonna have a crick in his neck for the next couple days, that Gohan was sure of.

Lifting one of his hands, Gohan ran it across his face and immediately felt dampness. A sheen of sweat completely covered his face, giving the young man a good idea why the bed sheets were soaked. That beeping sound came again, causing him to look away from his brother and find the source of that infernal sound: a heart monitor. Alright, he was definitely in some sort of hospital, the reason being beyond him.

That was when the door open, the hinges letting at a whining sound. Looking towards it, Gohan watched Bulma quietly slip into the room, trying her best to not wake up Goten and him. When she looked towards him though, she came to a complete stop, a relieved expression flooding her face.

"Um, hey," Gohan greeted.

"Oh thank God," Bulma breathed, a hand clutching her shirt right where her heart would be.

"We've been so worried about you."

"What am I…," Gohan paused, swallowing hard before coughing. His voice was raspy, like it hadn't been used for awhile. And he was thirsty. Maybe Bulma had some water? Trying again, he asked "What am I doing here?"

"Recovering from a virus, a nasty one too," Bulma answered as she strolled over to him. She began checking the machines, making sure they were operating properly while checking his vitals. "Mind telling me how the VR66 got into your house? The only people that should even know about it are the ones that keep it locked away in a laboratory."

"Like here?"

Bulma went still before turning her head slowly towards him, a glare on her face so chilling Gohan felt a shiver run up and down his spine. "I would not mention that again if I were you."

"Not mentioning it," Gohan responded quickly. With the Briefs woman in a mood like this, it was always best to distract her with something else. "I don't really know how it got in my house there. I came home and…"

Gohan had to stop there. What _had_ happened? The last thing he could possibly remember was coming home and…that was it. But that couldn't be it. He was here, alive. The demi-saiyan's head furrowed as he began concentrating. "I came home…" he trailed off, speaking his thoughts out loud as they came to him. "I was tired. And dirty. I was going to take a shower. I came home and took a shower."

"O…kay," Bulma said as she watched him. "Any reason why you're telling me this?"

"I had been working in the mine the whole day," Gohan continued, ignoring the blue-haired woman. "That's why I took a shower. Then…something."

A growl sounded off then, followed by a second one shortly after. Gohan's face went red from embarrassment as Bulma chuckled.

In his chair, Goten began to moan as he slowly came to consciousness. "I guess you two are hungry," the woman commented amused.

That clicked in Gohan's head. "I was hungry!" he exclaimed, causing Goten to jump in his chair as he was fully awoken. "I sat down to eat when—"

"Gohan!" Goten shouted before Gohan felt him leap on top of him, his arms wrapping around the older Son and squeezing the life out of him. "Thank God you're alive! We were so worried about you! Don't ever do that again, you hear me? Don't—"

"Air….need…" Gohan gasped, starting to turn blue.

Immediately, Goten released him, allowinh precious oxygen to fill his lungs. "I'm sorry Gohan!" the younger Son boy cried out. "Please don't be angry!"

"Goten!" Bulma suddenly shouted, silencing the youth. "You should know better than to attack a sick person. Get off the bed immediately!"

"Yes ma'am," Goten said quickly as he climbed off the bed. "I'm sorry."

Bulma signed, "We know Goten, we know. But before you got excited, Gohan was telling me what led up to him calling me half-dead."

Gohan frowned at that. "I called you?"

"Uh, yeah. You did. That's why you're here. And it's also why I know it was the 66 to begin with."

He told her all that? But why couldn't he…

_"I've…been infected…the 66…"_

No, wait. He had told her about the virus. He had recognized the symptoms the moment he'd realized he was in trouble. So he had managed to get to the phone and tell Bulma about it. Yet there was something else too; he could feel it. Gohan could almost swear that some sort of foul play had occurred, which was why he had been exposed to the virus. But he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, nor had he been physically attacked. He would've heard the person if they had attacked him, not to mention felt it. Ugh, this whole thing had a rotten smell to it…

Smell…smell! Some odor had been bugging him all evening. And that smell made him realize about the person behind this…this…well, this assassination. But who would want him dead other than bad people? Yeah, there was that girl that attacked Yamcha but…

Her. It was her! Now he remembered. He had smelled her throughout his house. In fact, one of his last thoughts was that she had trapped him. "That woman," he growled, catching the attention of both Bulma and Goten.

"Woman? What woman?" Goten asked.

Gohan felt himself freeze. He hadn't told anyone about that woman. He had promised Yamcha he wouldn't. Well, seeing as how she had almost killed him, he had to tell them now. Maybe leave out the parts about Yamcha. Maybe.

"There was a woman trying to kill me about a month ago," Gohan informed the two, both of them looked shocked. "I didn't think much of her because her attempt had been…well, pitiful to be honest. I didn't take her seriously."

"And we're just hearing about this now, _why_?" Bulma nearly yelled, causing both Saiyans to flinch.

"I…I didn't want to worry you guys. Like I said, I didn't take her seriously and didn't feel like I should worry you about it."

"Gohan, when someone tries to kill you, that's something you share. _With everyone_," the Briefs woman growled. "Any other attempts you would like to add? You know, since you were almost _killed_?"

"N-no, just that one…and this latest one, heh heh." He scratched his head.

"Are you sure?" Angry blue eyes bored into his own.

"Y-yes?" He all but squeaked.

Bulma blew out some air, annoyed. She was mad and Gohan knew it. Goten too, but for the moment Gohan felt he was in more danger. Distraction time! "Could you tell me how I got here?" he ventured.

"I sent Vegeta to get you," she answered. "I inoculated him first to make sure he didn't get the virus while saving you."

Gohan nodded his head. "Good thinking. But even if Vegeta flew to my house and back, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to get me here alive."

"You'd be right normally, but you do know I'm a genius right? I gave Vegeta an adrenaline shot in case you flat lined on the way back. Vegeta had to give it to you at your house and that bought you enough time for him to bring you back here."

Gohan nearly fell back onto the bed. "I was that close?"

"Extremely. Things were crazier when you two got here. Turns out Capsule Corp isn't adequately staffed or supplied to combat viruses despite being a big producer of vaccines." Bulma focused her sight on Gohan at that. "That's something good to come out of all this, by the way. I can correct that oversight."

Gohan just stared back at the woman. What could anyone say to something like that? His life had been held in the hands of people fumbling around in the dark to fight out one of the most deadly diseases on the planet. It was a wonder he was still alive. "But you make the cure, don't you? Shouldn't that have been enough?"

"Well, no one here seemed to know where to inject the cure. There was this whole debate to put it in arteries, veins, and even one guy that wanted to put it right in your heart. Everyone was so distracted in trying to figure out the best place to inject you for maximum effect, they had forgotten to inject you completely. Then someone wanted to check for a manual and there was an argument for that…"

"It's a wonder I'm still alive."

"No kidding. It was then someone finally noticed you were leaking blood everywhere and that you needed a blood transfusion."

"Oh, well that's something. I hope the blood wasn't as hard to get."

There was a long pause, something that Gohan found unnerving. "Please tell me that went without a hitch." Bulma's eye twitched in irritation. Without a hitch? He was kidding her right? "Have you forgotten your heritage Gohan? Because of your less than human qualities, you have a rare blood type." Irritation filled her voice some more. "And Vegeta refused to give you any of his. Said he would be a monkey's uncle the day he gave royal blood to a 3rd class runt."

"That's where I come in," Goten spoke up, sounding cheerful.

A smile appeared on Gohan's face. "You gave me blood huh? Thanks Squirt. I owe you."

Goten's face frowned. "I told you not to call me that anymore."

"You'll always be a squirt to me, Squirt." Faintly, Gohan could feel some things making sense. Like the sights of people rushing around and the sounds of panicked voices, one of which being his brother. It was luck that Goten had been at Capsule Corp when he had. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't.

Then a thought popped into Gohan's head. "But would you mind telling me why you were here? I can't imagine you were too far away in order to give me your blood during all of this."

Goten looked bashful about that. "I, uh…I was here to, um, talk to Trunks. About that thing at school, you know?"

"School? What happened at school?" Bulma asked.

"Oh…umm…"

"There are more pressing matters at the moment, Bulma."

Every head in the room turned to look towards the door, finding Vegeta leaning against the wall next to the door, his arms crossed over his chest. For once the Saiyan Prince wasn't dressed in his workout clothes, instead deigning towards jeans and a turtleneck.

"When did you get here, Vegeta?" Gohan asked curiously.

"When you mentioned someone tried to kill you and nearly succeeded."

"Ah."

"Do you have any idea why someone might want to kill you?"

On instinct, Gohan was about to say "No," when he rethought it. The reason why that woman was after him was because he was the Delivery Boy, since that's what she called him during their first encounter. "I believe so," he sighed. "I've been finding out lately that several companies I've been selling uranium to were less than truthful with me. They were funneling the ore to countries that had explicit designs to make uranium-powered weapons when I made it explicitly clear that they weren't supposed to. I've been destroying various factories and warehouses belonging to those companies in order to stop them."

"And they just now caught on that you were the one hurting them?"

"Well, I did disguise myself. I'd go Super Saiyan before attacking."

"And they found out despite that. Either they're smarter than you gave them credit for, or you slipped up somewhere." Vegeta's eyes narrowed at him. "A mistake on your part either way."

Gohan nodded his head. "You're right. I'm going to fix this."

Vegeta remained silent before leaning forward, turning to leave the room. Apparently that wasn't the action Bulma wanted from him as she coughed loudly. "You know, you could help Gohan out here."

Vegeta stopped in the door way, not bothering to turn around. "This is Gohan's mess and he is the one to clean it up. Until he proves himself incompetent, I won't move a finger." With that said, the Saiyan Prince disappeared from sight.

It was silent for a moment before Bulma growled. "That man, ugh. He can be so stubborn at times. Don't worry Gohan, I'll go talk to him about it."

"I'll help too," Goten offered.

A smile appeared on Gohan's face as he shook his head. "No, Vegeta's right. I'm the one that should be taking care of this. I'd rather not drag any of you further into this than I've already have. Besides, they might try and target you because of your association to me."

"Hey, they won't be able to hurt me! Not in a million years!" Goten cried out indignantly. It was just like the time Gohan had teased the younger Son about not being able to fly. The same pouty expression from then was on Goten's face.

"I know you can take care of yourself," Gohan amended. "But it's not just you that could get hurt. They could go after Mom or Grandpa. No one is off limits."

Goten paled at that. "I didn't think about that."

"That's why we have to consider everything. I know you want to help me Goten, but the best thing you can do is make sure Mom doesn't get hurt. They're only focusing on me right now, which is better than having all of us targeted. That's why I'm going to handle this alone for now.

If I do need help though, I'll definitely let you know."

Goten gave him a serious look. "You better, Gohan."

Gohan gave him a small smile. "I promise."

"And it's time you got some rest, Gohan," Bulma interjected. "You just got over the worst part of that virus and you need all the rest you can get. Worry about that assassin stuff later."

Gohan gave her a nod and then watched as the Briefs woman ushered Goten out of the room. Once the door closed behind them, Gohan let a serious expression appear on his face.

While it was true he needed to reclaim his strength, he couldn't just sit here and wait. That assassin woman was still out there and she was his best lead to finding out which corporation sent her after him.

Taking a deep breath, the demi-saiyan began extending his senses, searching for the woman's ki signature. He faintly remembered how hers felt when she had attacked Yamcha and he was going to search as far as he could for it.

Already his senses had swept through Capsule Corp and into the metropolis of West City; Gohan continued to push his senses further and further. It would only be a matter of time before he found what he sought.

* * *

><p>Videl slowly walked around the empty apartment she had kept residence in for the past couple of months. She had packed and sent away most her things and was now making sure there would be no trace of her presence, in case any more of those Saiyans came looking for the murder of their beloved Gohan.<p>

She'd begin the search for his body once she was out of there, she decided.

It was then she felt the presence of someone behind her, causing her to whirl around quickly, half expecting to see Yamcha or even Gohan's brother, Goten. Nothing. There was no one here besides her. _And I won't be here much longer, either. _She reached for her duffle bag near the front door.

There was a slight cracking sound, then the door was smashed in. Shielding her face with her arms, Videl went flying and hit the back wall with a hard thud. Through the dust a figure started approaching her. She scrambled to get up, but before she could the figure reached her and forced her back against the wall, using only one hand to do it.

She gasped.

It couldn't be. No, it was impossible, she had killed him! But there was no mistaking the man in front of her. Gohan, the Delivery boy, was alive. She had failed and now he had her backed against a wall, hand to her chest. It felt like her rib cage was caving in. The only consolation was that he wasn't choking her again.

He glared at her, but didn't make a move to kill her. Instead he took a deep calming breath and said coldly "You tried to kill me using a deadly virus that could have infected others. You would risk hurting innocent people just to kill me. _**Why**_?"

That last part came out as a harsh growl. He looked angry, shocked, and pained at once. Videl heard the shouts of people in the apartments around her. She smirked.

"Well this is an awfully interesting position you've put yourself in, _Gohan. _What will you do now? You can't let this image get to the press. It will _**ruin**_ you," she said in mock concern.

Gohan blinked. She knew his name? What else did she know about him? He shook his head; there'd be time to question her about that later. He smirked back.

"What am I going to do? Why this…" He pulled her from the wall by her shirt and spun her around. He then wrapped his arm around her neck and locked it by clutching his hand against the bicep of his other arm.

She gasped and struggled. After several seconds she went limp in his arms. He leaned her gently against the wall and opened a near by window. Scooping her up bridal style, he flew out the window, ignoring the people shouting and running towards the now empty apartment. He sped his way across the sky, staying high so he wouldn't be recognized. Reaching his destination, he jumped down and set the unconscious murderess against a tree. With a flick of his finger he placed a ki ring around her, firmly binding her against the large sturdy tree trunk.

He made himself comfortable on a patch of grass under the shade and tried to ignore the lingering discomfort of his body from the virus. He was far from a hundred percent, but he couldn't afford to waste any more time on this matter.

Luckily, it didn't take long for those long lashes to flitter open, revealing two angry pools of blue.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thats the chapter guys. Please review and let us know your thoughts.<em>**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

><p><em><strong>Brought to you by RazorClaw V, ResistanceKnight, Gue22 and ShadowMajin<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Welcome back," said Gohan from where he sat under the tree. His tone was flat and his face blank. It was impossible to judge his mood when he wore that expressionless mask.<p>

Without word or hesitation, Videl launched herself in his direction, fully intent on digging her nails into his eyes. It was the only chance she had - to momentarily blind, then attempt to escape. She was no fool, one on one, even if she had a weapon, she knew she had no chance against him. It was a shock to find her torso suddenly being jerked back against the tree like the force of a seat-belt during impact. A quick glance at her kidnapper confirmed that he had not moved. What the? She attempted another launch, only to be jerked back more violently this time.

"Careful," said Gohan. "The harder you push against it, the harder it will push you back. If you push too hard, it might even burn." He said calmly. He made no effort to shift from his position, but his eyes dropped to her midsection.

Following their trail, it was then that Videl noticed it - the shimmering golden-ring binding her to the tree. She frowned and pushed her chest forward again, but a force from the ring merely pushed her back. Her hands were free, so she tried to grab it to pull it off of her, but the ring singed her hands. She could wiggle about a few inches, inside it, but that's about it. She was as good as chained.

So this was it. No way to escape. She was truly at the mercy of this creature - this human-alien hybrid.

A nervous shiver ran down her spine. She was suddenly aware of her raging pulse. She could feel it throbbing in her wrists, in her neck and in her stomach. _There are worse things_ Videl, she reminded herself, forcing the fear down. _There are worse things than him._ She recalled the searing heat that had engulfed everything in its path. Giant crackling flames swallowing the screams and cries of the dying. Her lungs burning for air, her eyes stinging from the thick hoard of smoke. Then that beam...torched black and red from the inferno, pinning her down. Another shiver ran through her - and this one had nothing to do with creature before. The memory of the sizzling of her own flesh...

Yes, this situation was bad but - there were definitely worse things. "Do it." She tilted her head to the side so her eyes could meet his. "Kill me already." She dared him. There was no tremor in her voice, no fear, no remorse...nothing but infuriating defiance.

"I see," said Gohan. "No regard for life, not even your own." He shook his head.

An eastward breeze rustled the large crown of leaves above them, making her fringe lift and sway to the side. Instinctively, she dipped her chin to hide the scarred tissue on her forehead. She gritted her teeth. She hated being outside during the day. The presence of the sun, burning bright and hot in the sky was nothing but a painful reminder of that day. It would always follow her around, warming her clothes as but a small taste of what it was capable of. The presence of the wind was no better. It was always blowing in her face, lifting her fringe, threatening to expose that which she desired to hide the most. And now thanks to this bastard, here she was, forced to helplessly endure both sun and wind.

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" said Videl. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting. So just do it already, kill me. I'm getting all fidgety sitting here without a cigarette." She rested her back fully against the tree, but the bark was jagged and rough, forcing her to push forward again. If only he had tied her up on the other side of the tree, where she wasn't facing the sun.

"I brought you up here to talk. I'm no killer." He took a momentary pause to still his emotions. He had to remind himself that she was not the first person who had ever tried to kill him. Vegeta had tried to kill him once, and he had been as good as defenseless then. It wouldn't do to lose his temper like that night at Yamcha's. He was in control this time, the rampant blood-lust that was so easy to trigger while in Super Saiyan would not be allowed to spring free. I just want to know why? Why are you trying to kill me?" He forced his voice to be as still and as calm as it could.

The seconds ticked by with the question hanging in the air, but Videl's face or manner did not change. Her face remained tilted, with her eyes quietly scorching him.

"To unleash something as dangerous as the 66," he had to stop again to swallow down the anger that was threatening to rise. "To unleash something as dangerous as that," he tried again, "Something that could have easily infected others, possibly causing another 66 epidemic," his eyes flashed in fury for a second just thinking about it. "Makes you and the people you're possibly working for pretty desperate to get rid of me and I just want to know why."

Silence.

"Why are you so desperate to see me dead?" The calm in his voice cracked. "What exactly is it that you think I have done? If this is about the mine that collapsed on Mango Island, you should know that no one died, and the mine paid for each employee's full medical expenses. I personally visited everyone, and saw that they made a full recovery with my own eyes."

Silence.

"Is it about Cell? You seem to know that I was there, that I fought him. Is that it?"

More silence.

"Majin Buu?" He threw up his hands in exasperation. "No, it can't be Buu, no one even remembers that that fiasco happened." He muttered to himself.

No change in her demeanour whatsoever. He could have been sitting on this mountain talking to himself for all the reaction she gave. His vision was momentarily filled with spots, as a sway of dizziness hit him. His throat felt raw and scratchy. He swallowed and cleared his throat, frowning when the action stung. Momentarily he flashed back to those excruciating moments after ingesting the 66 - where each cough had rewarded him with a mouthful of clotted blood. Thank god for Bulma's speedy action. He could have been dead, with no way to be wished back.

He was aware of how ill he still was, there was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable heaviness in his shoulders that he couldn't seem to shake. His head was clear but his body was uncharastically lethargic. He was probably due for another course of meds soon. Bulma was going to be livid if she discovered his absence.

"As you can imagine, I haven't fully recovered. I'm still undergoing treatment after what you put me through. Won't you just tell me who hired you, so I can get back to bed?"

Silence.

Gohan licked his drying lips. He was tired and thirsty and her continued silence was beginning to push at his buttons. He had promised himself not to lose it, even though he knew what she was, what she was capable of. He had promised himself to question her, and then hand her over to the police. He closed his eyes momentarily to remind himself of this resolve. He was determined to handle this the way he thought his father would - as peacefully as possible.

He sighed.

"The scar on your face? How did it happen?" He hadn't missed her quick reaction to the wind. It had been the same as before, the same reaction she'd had in Yamcha's apartment. Despite the fact that she was being strangled to death, she had still made an effort to try and hide the scar on her face. Gohan still remembered this, because he'd thought it was a strange thing to be preoccupied with, when your life was hanging in the balance. "Was it some kind of accident? Or did someone deliberately hurt you?"

The flicker of her eyes said the question had caught her off guard. Her face registered surprise for a split second, but just as quickly, it reverted back to hostile indifference.

Beneath the short veil of dark hair, Videl was more than just a little put off by this unexpected tangent in his questioning. She hated not being able to read a situation or a person as much as she hated being outside. What was his problem anyway? They both knew that he had the power to snuff her life out in a heartbeat. So what was he waiting for? What was he doing sitting there, looking so calm when he had the person that came so close to killing him sitting helplessly in front of him?

"I'm only asking because it seems to bother you." He shrugged. " I guess everyone of us is haunted by something, always trying to hide something." He said quietly.

Videl chuckled - a dry humourless chuckle as she shook her head. "Wow," she said. "That desperate huh? Tell you what, if you wanna chat me up so bad, be a gentleman and get me out of this sun. You don't even have to buy me breakfast, just buy me some cigs and we'll call it a date."

"Smoking is bad for you." He said without thinking.

"So is being chained to a tree against your will." She added, all pretense at humour abandoned.

Contempt - that's the only emotion he could read from her. It was defined in her posture, in her eyes and in the flow of her Ki. Suspicion and contempt, but not fear, certainly not remorse.

"Maybe so, but I can think of worse things," said Gohan. His face suddenly inches from hers, the tips of their noses almost touching. "So many other things that are worse than being tied to a tree."

Videl laughed. "Finally," she said. "I was starting to get bored with the gentlemanly act. I was starting to miss my blond friend from Yamcha's apartment. So what's it gonna be _Gohan_? Are you going to beat the answers out of me?" She kept her eyes level with his. "Oh yeah...I forgot," she whispered. "Strangulation is more your style isn't it? Go on then," she stretched out her neck and offered it to him. "Knock yourself out."

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, why are you trying to kill me? Who are you working for? Tell me!" His voice lost its conversational tone. Being reminded of how he had handled the situation that time was the last thing he felt like sitting through.

A blob of slimy goop landed below his eye as she spat in his face. "I don't answer to the likes of you, you interbred Saiyan abomination."

"!" Gohan's eyes widened in alarm. "What did you just call me?"

"You think I don't know what you are? That you're not even human? Don't make me laugh."

Suddenly this wasn't about him and his safety anymore. What if this woman, and whomever she was working for was after him because they found out about his heritage? That would mean that Goten and Trunks, and yes even Vegeta...all of them could be in danger.

"I tried," Gohan all but snarled, as he wiped the spit off his face.

Chop...he brought down the edge of his hand at the base of her neck and she collapsed against him.

_I tried it your way Dad_, he thought, _and its not working._ He was at the very end of his patience now. He could not afford patience, not if Goten and Trunks' lives were also in danger.

He hoisted her up and flung her over his shoulder. She was completely out, her body limp and pliable. "I gave you a chance to talk and you threw it back in my face," he lifted himself up into the air. "Let's see how you like Vegeta's methods."

* * *

><p>With an angry throb at the back of her head and a strange light forcing its way through the closed slits of her eyes, Videl groaned as she came to. A pair of boots came into view, forcing her eyes to trail up the full length of their bearer. They didn't have to travel very far, he wasn't particularly tall.<p>

_Huh? Who the hell is this? And where the hell am I?_ She thought.

A quick assessment of her situation made her turn up furious eyes at him. She was spread like a pair of scissors across a wall. A wall of all things! With those abominable rings holding her in place. One on both wrists and one on both ankles. The room was completely dark - no windows. With just that...urgh...that artificial light shining directly in her eyes. The short man with the wild hair stood watching her like he'd just won some stupid prize.

She hated the smug bastard on sight.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to wake up," said the man. "So, are you going to tell me who you are?" He inquired with a smirk on his face "Or do I get the pleasure of prying it out of you?"

"Fuck you." She retorted. She hated most men from her days as a trainee in the agency. They were always leering at her behind only to cringe at the sight of her face. They were always looking down on her skills because of her sex. It had brought her great pleasure to pound each of their smug faces into the ground. She hated all smug, haughty men - including her boss. But her gut said that she would hate this man most of all. "I'm not saying one more word." She fixed her eyes stubbornly. "Do whatever you like."

"Excellent answer," the man grinned. "I guess we'll be going with the prying after all."

* * *

><p>Trunks grumbled to himself. Mothers. How could his mother just send him here, to Goten's house? She knew that the two of them weren't talking anymore. Why that little...he had been nice enough to help Goten make friends when he first came to school and that third rate had gone and tried to steal them all for himself! And when he had tried to get Goten to back off, just a little, the idiot goes and blows up a wall!<p>

Crazy much?

Damn it, 'cause of that little stunt it wasn't just his allowance that took a hit. People had started to call him a freak now too, all 'cause of that fight. Damn it, damn it! After all that hard work he had put into keeping his true powers hidden, that little idiot had to come and mess everything up!

Trunks spotted the Son residence coming up on the horizon. The tiny little house was easy enough to spot, since it was the only manmade thing for miles. How could Bulma do this to him? Forcing him to come here and apologise. Their last spat had been about a month ago, at Capsule Corp. just after Gohan got sick. As far as he was concerned, not enough time had passed for him either of them to cool down. Why, he was still ready to go 'Super' then and there, to let loose on that little hick for what he said about him and his father in the battle with Buu.

"_Royalty my foot. Who was it that saved the day when your father grew that ugly M on his face?"_

What did his mother expect to happen. For him and Goten to make up on the spot and go back to being best friends? Pah! As if! Those days were over. "Damn him!" He yelled out to no one as he landed not so gracefully in front of the house.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, the young half-Saiyan wrinkled his face with anger as he went to knock on the door. He would say the words, to appease his mother - to get his allowance back, but he was fully expecting Goten to slam the door in his face.

He knocked, and waited.

And waited.

"...great, not even here." He grumbled. There was no one home.

His face scrunched in irritation. It had been a while since he'd done this but...urgh...he had no choice. He spread out his senses and tried to locate the Ki of that third rate.

"What the?" His eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Goten's back at my house? What the hell is he doing there?" He muttered, already soaring back in the direction he'd come.

It didn't take him long to get back, but his senses led him to a part of Capsule Corp he didn't even know existed. He ploughed his way through the unfamiliar stairs and passageways, until he came to a stop outside a solid metal door. Goten was somewhere in here, he could feel his nasty Ki jumping out at him. "Hey! Goten I know you're muffofllul," something clamped his mouth shut.

"Quiet Trunks! You'll blow my cover!" Goten suddenly hissed in his ear out of nowhere.

Trunks didn't even get a chance to react before he felt himself being pulled into the air. "What the?" He began to say, but Goten shoved him through a small hole in the ceiling and instructed him to be quiet. It was a peculiar sight for Trunks, seeing Goten with some kind of mask covering his face. Before he could voice his outrage though, Goten's finger quickly directed his gaze to a vent below them.

A sudden wave of foul smelling air slammed into Trunks as he peered down the little holes of the vent. It was about enough to knock him out, it was so bad, he had to clamp his nose and mouth with both hands. Now he understood Goten's mask. It smelt like something had died in there.

He wasn't really sure what he was looking at. The air didn't even look right. Almost...green...or something. Maybe it was his eyes playing tricks on him...but he could have sworn he could see something akin to a girl sprawled out on the wall. Bound by rings of Ki. "What the fuck?"

She looked - terrible. Her dark hair short and jagged, as if angrily chopped off by a knife or something. She had a horrible burn mark across her forehead, and her neck was hanging limply to the side, glistening in sweat and dirt. Her face was taut, frozen in an excruciating cringe of disgust. Her eyes sunken with her cheek bones sticking out like a corpse's. He could clearly make out the in and out movement of her rib-cage as she wretched, even though nothing was coming out of her.

Trunks' stomach churned, forcing something up only for it to get lodged somewhere in between. He gulped, his dry throat burning like he had just swallowed red hot charcoal. His entire body was shaking from a mixture of fear and realization. It...just wasn't possible. And yet...there it was, clear as day for him to see - his father stepping into the beam of light shining on her.

"It can't be..." He croaked.

But there was no mistaking his father's figure even though the bottom half of his face was covered by a similar mask to Goten's. It was definitely him, Ki didn't lie. With a flick of Vegeta's hands, the rings binding the poor girl to the wall disappeared. She fell to the floor with a dull thud.

"Still not talking I see," said Vegeta. "Very well. Let's see if a few days in this stench will change your mind."

Trunks couldn't breathe, couldn't think. His father left the room shortly after, leaving the woman to curl up into a retching ball on the floor.

"She's a tough one to crack," he heard Goten sigh, unconcerned.

Furious, Trunks immediately grabbed his former best-friend by the scruff of his clothes and shoved him into the wall of the the crowded space. "What in the hell Goten? What the hell is going on?" he fumed. "How could you hide up here like a rat, while my father," his stomach turned. "While my father..." he couldn't even bring himself to voice out what his father was doing to another human being - a girl no less. It was too horrible.

Abruptly he let Goten go. "I'm busting in, I'm going to help that poor woman, and then I'm telling Mom."

"Don't be stupid Trunks, don't you know anything? Don't you know who that is?" Goten blocked his foot from punching a hole through the vent. "That's the one that poisoned Gohan. That woman is out to kill us all. She's trying to kill off all Saiyans."

* * *

><p>Gohan poured himself another glass of water. It was no use, he just couldn't concentrate on work. He downed the contents in two gulps and placed it back on the small counter. Walking back to his desk, he loosed his tie and picked up the phone.<p>

"The conference call with the Ops guys, reschedule it please. Something's come up." He instructed his secretary, hanging up before she could protest. He plopped himself down on his chair and began to drum his fingers on the rich wooden veneer of his desk. As usual, his thoughts were on _her _- the assassin.

How can one woman be so stubborn?

After his less than fruitful interrogation, he had abandoned her to Vegeta a month ago, but even Vegeta hadn't been able to get her to talk. Granted, Bulma had made it clear that she was not to be harmed physically, much to Vegeta's irritation, but that is not to say that she'd had it easy. On the contrary, Vegeta had come up with some rather sinister and depraved ways to make her suffer without laying a finger on her. But all his twisted creativity had been for nothing, she still hadn't talked.

The only upside to this whole mess was that none of their lives had been threatened since her capture.

Sighing, Gohan lost the battle with himself and pulled his laptop closer. He opened the screen that was broadcasting her live from her cell and immediately cringed at the image.

She had always been so tough and defiant in the past. She had always held her head high and endured whatever Vegeta brought her way with astonishing bravado.

So watching her now...while she tried to endure this latest method, seeing her so pale and defeated, it was no wonder he couldn't stomach it. She was curled up on the floor retching painfully as she tried to cover her nose and mouth. On and around her, it was easy to identify the spilled contents of her stomach. It didn't sit well with him at all, no matter what she was, or what she had done. _It was wrong to do this to another human being._

His fingers curled into an angry ball when he noticed her hair - it sat short and jagged, with some parts cut down to the roots, making the scalp visible. _Vegeta, you bastard_, he thought angrily. He never thought Vegeta would pick up on it but he had. He must have finally noticed how she would always dip her chin so her hair could hide her face. He had noticed it and exploited it.

Cruel.

This was cruel and inhumane in so many ways. The things Vegeta had subjected her to this past month, and now this...

_Urgh!_ He ran his hands down his face in frustration. The truth was...his dreams had been troubled since Vegeta got started on her. He told himself that he wouldn't watch, but he always did. Instead of sleeping or working, he'd find himself connecting to the live feed from her cell and just watch; the guilt and disgust mounting with each passing day.

Why was she being so stubborn? Why? If she would only talk...then she wouldn't have to suffer this way. Then _he_ wouldn't have to suffer this way. He should have just handed her over to the police from scratch, not to Vegeta. It's not as if his cruel methods came as a surprise. Not having the stomach for it himself, he had deliberately handed her over to this...

_No! _He pushed his chair back as he began to pace the length of his office. This was not up to him, it was up to her! This was not his fault, it was hers! She could stop it at anytime and talk. For Goten, for Trunks, for all their sakes, they had to do whatever it took to get to the truth!

Yet...was the truth worth it if they had to stoop to such methods? Getting answers was important; the more they knew, the more they could counter whoever this woman was working for. And since she knew he was half-Saiyan - and by extension Goten as well - it made things much more serious, dangerous even. They had to know to know the truth, period.

But there was this small part of him, a part that grew bigger with each day that passed. These methods, these tortures weren't right. No matter what their justification was, hurting another person was never the answer. It's what separated them from people like Frieza, or Cell.

Gohan closed his eyes, pressing his fingertips against his eyelids and rubbing them. No, what they were doing to this girl made them exactly like those two. No justification in the world could or would change that. It had to stop; he needed to stop it. Dropping his hand as his eyes opened, a determined expression covered his face.

This had to end now.

* * *

><p>She wasn't sure when or how, but the gas had stopped. The smell still lingered, but the effects were starting to wear off with every passing second. Videl didn't stir though, it's not as if there was somewhere to go. Besides, retching on an empty stomach for hours and hours was surprisingly draining. She was weeks past trying to find a way out of this room.<p>

A strip of light caught her eye, making her hopeful that it was one of those bots. They came twice a day. The first bot was large and noisy - a bathroom bot equipped with a toilet and a hose. Using it was far from dignified, but at least it offered an alternative to doing one's business on the floor. The second bot was small – it always wheeled in silently with a tray of food and drink. Its efforts were all wasted on her though; she had stopped eating a long time ago.

As the strip of light fully expanded with the opening of the door, Videl gritted her teeth when she heard them – footsteps, not wheels. The sound struck a familiar sense of dread in her stomach. Every time _he_ came, something awful was bound to come her way. The familiar sense of being lifted off the ground and being pinned against the wall by an invisible force hit her immediately. She was very familiar with this position too. The singeing of the golden rings around her wrists and ankles was nothing to be alarmed about.

"Well, well, well...looks like you bested the gas after all." said the short dark haired man.

Videl turned her head away from him, bracing herself for whatever depraved tactic he had up his sleeve today. It hardly mattered what it was – nothing was going to make her talk.

The short man twirled his wrist around with a sinister smirk, and Videl felt herself tremble at the ball of fire forming in his palm. She shut her eyes and tried to inch into the wall as much as she could, willing it to open up and swallow her. It was true that he had never actually let it get close enough to actually burn her, but just the sight of it...the thought of it...she gulped and started shaking her head violently.

The glare was too bright to keep out, even with shut eyes. She could see it growing bigger and bigger behind her lids. She had to bite down hard on her lip to stop herself from screaming in terror – she just...she just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her give in to the terror of the one thing she actually feared.

"That's enough Vegeta." A voice suddenly interrupted her losing battle with her will. "Put that out and step away from her; this ends today."

"What are you doing here brat?" the short man asked irritably without even turning around.

"What I should have done a long time ago," said the newcomer.

If she had any voice in her, Videl supposed she would have gasped - it was him, Son Gohan. She hadn't seen him since that day on that mountain, bound to that tree. She might have chuckled at the irony, she realized with astonishing clarity that she was actually glad to see him.

With something akin to a blue fire-ball, Son Gohan was suddenly standing between her and the short man. His blue-ball extinguishing the yellow one in a second. "I'm not kidding Vegeta, this is clearly not working and I'm not gonna sit by and let you torture her anymore. I'm taking her."

"Like hell you are," Vegeta snapped. "She's not going anywhere until I say so."

"I didn't come here to argue with you Vegeta. Bulma is going to try something new. I'm taking her."

"I told you and Bulma to let me fry her a long time ago, but no...you pitiful earthlings and your morals. 'Don't hit her Vegeta,' 'Don't burn her Vegeta.' Pfft. No wonder she hasn't talked. What useless contraption does the woman want to try now?"

"Come with me and see."

"Fine. It's not like Bulma would let me hear the end of it." said Vegeta. "Go on, take her then, you know where to find me when you and the woman fail."

With that, Vegeta turned around and left.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Please review and let us know how its going so far, <strong>_

_**the TDS team**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**This chapter is brought to you by Saiyan007, ShadowMajin and Gue22.**

* * *

><p>She didn't struggle as he carried her out. She didn't care where he was taking her; she was just glad to be leaving that dreadful room.<p>

She felt silly for feeling self-conscious at a time like this though—even the worst of her simulation training had never left her quiet like this before. She could feel and smell the dirt and grime on her. The clothes she's been abducted in were now reduced to tattered rags.

The first dose of natural light stung, making her wince and shut her eyes. It was her first exposure to sunlight in weeks, and surprisingly, for someone who hated the sun as much as she did, she found herself relishing its warm rays as they fell on her body. She forced herself to open her eyes and almost smiled at the sight—clean white walls and large rectangular windows revealing large and beautiful grounds outside. It was nothing to get excited about, but after spending weeks in that dull and dingy room with its grey walls, anything else was a welcome sight.

In no time at all they were enclosed in a rather large elevator on the way up to the third floor, or so the elevator button the Delivery Boy pressed informed her. Though her training demanded that she be on her guard—surveying her environment for a possible escape route—Videl was too busy hoping that her carrier, with his immaculate suit and clean inviting smell, was not paying attention to her own mortifying stench. She barely registered their entry into the lab, but as soon as the smell of cigarette smoke tantalized her nostrils, she abruptly snapped her head, raising her neck in search of the of the source of the potential fix.

Right now, she would kill for a cigarette.

"Oh...my...she's...gosh..." a feminine voice said. "Just put her over here, Gohan."

Her carrier strode past a woman with blue hair without a word, and Videl could only look on longingly as she spied a third of a cig perched between her lips. She tried to outstretch her hand to reach for it, but in no time at all she found herself lying down on something soft and clean for the first time in eons.

"Do it quickly, Bulma," said Gohan, stepping away from the small bed.

"What, you're not even gonna tie her up? What if she assaults me?" The blue-haired woman shrieked.

Despite herself and her pitiful condition, Videl managed a small smile. At least, someone amongst these freaks still found her intimidating.

"Fine, I'll do it," said Gohan, shrugging off his suit-jacket. He rolled up his shirt to his elbows with a serious and determined expression on his face.

Videl chuckled. "So you got me here, barely dressed, in this nice cushy bed. Like I told you last time, before we get too excited, since you're already shedding your clothes in such a hurry, be a gentleman and buy me a cigarette first will ya?" She teased, chuckling further when Gohan halted his actions, flushing horribly in embarrassment.

The blue-haired woman stared at her, trying to hide a smile behind those red glossy lips of hers. Videl watched her twirl what was left of her cig between her fingers before promptly storming towards her bed and offering it to her.

"Here, take it. You look like you're dying for this," said Bulma.

It had been weeks, Videl didn't even attempt to be coy. She accepted the offer rather greedily. With a shaky grip, she parted her lips and closed her eyes as she took a long delicious drag.

Heaven. Pure heaven is what it was as the nicotine coursed through her system, good Kami it had been too damn long. She might have let out a moan, but her eyes immediately snapped open when she felt a rather excruciating sting in her neck. She was rather too late to fully play out her astonishment; Gohan was already stepping away from her, with an empty syringe in his hand.

"Bastard," she whispered before her world started spinning.

* * *

><p>"How long?" Gohan paced; waiting was clearly not his strongest point.<p>

"I already told you, I don't know," Bulma replied, her tone annoyed. "The serum had yet to be tested on a human subject when you came barging in, demanding that I try it. Besides, you and Dad are the ones behind this one, so don't look at me."

"Her eyes have been glazed over like that for a long time; I'm starting to worry here." He walked back to Videl's bed and peered down at her.

"Well, you injected her with a psychoactive drug designed to increase both the amplitude and decay time of inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Once all her neurons are affected, she should come to," Bulma theorized.

"Theoretically," muttered Gohan.

"Listen buddy," she poked him in the chest, "I'm not the one that didn't have the patience to conclude the research here, so don't—" she began to screech. But Gohan wasn't listening, his eyes were once more fixed on the woman on the bed.

"She's...she's blinking...I think she's awake," Gohan said breathlessly.

"Well then, let's put this so-called truth serum of yours to the test then, shall we?" Bulma grinned, advancing towards the "patient."

"Um...hi..." She waved her hand to and fro before Videl's eyes. "Can you see me?"

"Yes," was the toneless mechanical response.

Bulma grinned, giving Gohan a thumbs up. "My name is Bulma, Bulma Briefs. You're in my lab; I'm a scientist of sorts. What about you, what's your name?" She tried to sound casual, but really this was the moment of "truth" so to speak.

"My name is Videl Satan, and I'm an assassin."

* * *

><p>"<em>TEEN HERO SAVES BUS HOSTAGES"<em>

"_DAUGHTER OF HERCULE TO ASSIST SATAN CITY POLICE"_

"_CRIMERATE DECLINES AS MS. SATAN CLEANS UP CITY"_

_LOCAL CRIMEFIGHTER ENTERS HIGH SCHOOL"_

These were the headlines Gohan scanned through as he sat before the media archive. The machine itself was nothing more than a box with a monitor screen on its front. A knob stuck out on the side, which Gohan used to move the reel mechanism inside the device. Newspaper pages would scroll from right to left, their speed varying depending on how much the young man moved the knob.

Upon finding out his assassin was a woman called "Videl Satan," Gohan was determined to find out who was the woman behind the name. To his surprise, he immediately found Hercule Satan's name at the beginning of his research. The "entertainment pages" confirmed that claim with "_Hercule Satan Father of Baby Girl."_ From what he could gather, this woman was his daughter, but had fallen out of the limelight that had followed her father since the day he because famous for the defeat of Cell. Turning to the newspaper reels, he was trying to get a sense of what she had done as a girl and that led to even more surprising findings.

The fact that she actually fought crime had made him do a double check just to make sure there wasn't a second Videl Satan out there. Skimming through the headlines and the articles that followed, she had been quite successful at that job. So what led her to becoming essentially a hired gun that killed people?

"_TRAGEDY! VIDEL SATAN KILLED!"_

"_VIDEL SATAN'S LAST HEROIC ACT!"_

"_BURNING BUILDING CLAIMS LIFE OF HERCULE'S DAUGHTER!"_

"_MR. SATAN DISTRAUGHT OVER DAUGHTER'S DEATH"_

"_CITY MOURNS DEAH OF HERO TEEN"_

Those headlines came of nowhere to slap him right in the face. Dead? Impossible. The proof of that was lying in a room at CC. And what was this about a burning building? Scrolling to the headline mentioning the building, Gohan read the article in depth. According to it, Videl Satan had gone into a burning building to save some people trapped inside, but ended up becoming a victim herself along with everyone that was inside. It was heart-wrenching to say the least.

Despite the article though—unless the woman in custody was someone else—it seemed Videl Satan hadn't perished. Somehow she had survived and was in tip-top condition. The only damage the seemed to occur was the drastic change in her personality, how he didn't know. Had she seen something in that building to make her the way she was? Did failure spin her world into chaos? Some other mental scar?

Scar. She had some on her face if he recalled. No, they were burns. Burns she had to have gotten in that fire. So the Satan woman had been injured in the fire. How though? How could a burn lead to such a drastic turn in personality? Wounds didn't normally do that.

Unconsciously, Gohan raised his right hand to his left forearm. Although it had been healed to perfection, there were times the Saiyan could feel a phantom pain there. During the fight with Kid Buu, that little pipsqueak had a tendency to bite people and had made sure Gohan's arm had been a recipient of such a bite. Even after the time since the battle, he would feel that searing pain as Buu sunk his teeth in. A reminder that one should never let their guard down, no matter the opponent or how he behaved. Hell, the original Fat Buu was evidence to that, though he wasn't nearly the reminder that a jolting pain was.

So Gohan knew very well what a wound could represent to a person. So those burns meant something to this Satan woman, a constant reminder of that day inside that flame-consumed building. He could understand that.

It also helped explained her fear of fire, or at least of anything that could reproduce heat. She had frozen when he had shoved that ki ball near her face during their first encounter; a double-whammy of physical and mental pain. Vegeta had used those reactions against her during his tortures as well. That was something to keep in mind in the event she somehow escaped and try to end his life once more.

Yet he still couldn't see it. A young girl, courageous and admirable, reduced to a cold-hearted killer all because…of what? A burn? No, not that. Those people inside? Maybe. Perhaps she couldn't handle failing those people in the burning building; yet another thing Gohan could relate to. But whereas he chose to better himself in order to prevent another such failure, this girl got it into her head that if she couldn't save lives then she should end them.

A frown covered Gohan's face. That was too drastic of a choice. No, there was something else involved in this. Some influence that used this event to break her and toss her into the life she currently led. After finding all of these exploits of hers, Gohan couldn't help but see this girl picking herself off the ground and bettering herself to prevent another tragedy.

In that sense, the two of them were quite a like: protecting people who needed protecting without giving much thought to themselves. Gohan wondered what it would've been like to actually meet this Videl Satan back then. She must've been an incredible person.

And it would be that person that could tell him what he wanted to know. Gohan needed to draw out this incredible girl, lost within the shell of a ruthless killer. She would be the one to tell him why someone wanted him dead and more importantly whom. That girl wouldn't sit by as something wrong happened right in front of her, much less perpetrated it.

He just needed a way to reach her.

* * *

><p>Gohan purposefully walked through one of the long hallways of Capsule Corp., his thoughts preoccupied with the things he had learned about Videl Satan over the past few days of research, and the things he wanted to ask her.<p>

"Gohan!" a voice called out to him, interrupting his musings. Looking down the hall, Gohan saw Bulma walking towards him, drawing his attention to her. "Thank goodness I finally found you! I've been looking all over for you. We need to talk."

"Uh, sure. What's up?" he asked as he drew near her.

Instead of answering him, she moved into the room she had just exited, Gohan following her in and discovering it to be an office. Watching as Bulma took a seat, the young man couldn't help but ask "Bulma, what's going?"

"It's about Videl," Bulma replied as she pulled out a cigarette carton, pulling out one of the cigarettes and lighting it up. "I found something about the people she works for."

This got Gohan's attention immediately. "What did you find?"

"It turns out this organization she works for is an agency of the World Government and a top secret one too. They're only used as a last resort for anything remotely looking dangers." Bulma's eyes bored into his at this part. "They only go after extremely dangerous people, the ones that require military intervention if they fail."

Gohan was taken back by that. "Wait, they're protecting people?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I could only find a few of their cases, but of the ones I did, it turns out that they were sent in to take care of Cell. They weren't too successful there obviously. They were more successful with some guys associated with the Red Ribbon Army though. A few of their officers were hunted down and killed by these guys. I even found assignments for Gero and a couple of the officers I ran into."

Gohan's eyes had widened significantly by this point. This organization was not who he thought it was. Other than forcing a teenage girl into the life of a killer, it sounded like these guys were actually protecting people, even though their methods were unsavory. "So these are the good guys?"

"Yeah; also, apparently Videl was one of their best assassins. I found nothing but successful assignments with her. You're really lucky to be alive."

"Seriously? Huh," Gohan said, slightly shocked. He already knew she was good from what she had done to Yamcha, but that good? It began to make sense how she could nearly incapacitate two of the strongest fighters in the world.

"Would I joke about something like this, Gohan?" Bulma replied, giving him a serious look.

Gohan half-ignored her. It was never a good thing to ignore the Briefs woman he had found in his experience. Yet, the thought of some federal agency sending their best assassin after him was quite distracting. "But why would I be on their hit list? If all the people they go after are dangerous killers, I shouldn't be on their list. I haven't killed anyone!"

"I know," Bulma replied as she paused to take a drag of her cigarette. "Property damage isn't a good enough reason to consider you a threat." She paused again as a thought occurred to her. A second later she gave him a sharp glance. "You didn't accidentally kill anyone during your raids, did you?"

Gohan was aghast at that the implication "No! Of course not!" he cried out, horrified. "I always searched the buildings, physically and with my ki sense. Anyone I found I would knock and take them far away from the blast zone. There's no way anyone died while I was there."

"What about indirectly? Maybe someone had a heart attack and died when you blew up the buildings."

Gohan paused at that. That had never crossed his mind. Sure he had scared many of them, but none of them looked like they would have a sudden stroke all of a sudden. Considering that these were places uranium was being stored, it would have been a bad choice to hire someone with very poor health. There was always a chance of radiation exposure when uranium had gone through the refinement process, even great than mining its raw form since it would be concentrated. "I…don't know," he finally answered. "I don't think any company would hire someone with a heart condition to guard something, but…I honestly don't know."

"It's just a thought," the blue-haired woman assured him. "It's very likely none of them died when you attacked. I just want to cover all of our bases here."

"Yeah…of course."

Taking another drag from her cigarette, the Brief's woman frowned. "Even if no one died though, destruction of property isn't enough to warrant this sort of reaction. It must be something else."

"It would have to be. Nothing else makes sense," Bulma said, taking another drag.

"Yeah, the only thing I've done is put a few people out of business, but for what they were doing, they deserved it," he practically growled out the last part. "They were violating agreement about the uses of the ore."

Bulma frowned at that. "What were they doing?"

"They were converting the ore to be used in weapons, even after I expressly made it known they weren't supposed to."

"So not only were you destroying their buildings, you were destroying weapons," Bulma summarized. "You were trying to keep innocent people safe and someone with access to this agency didn't like it. So they tried to kill you for it." She sighed. "This is getting more serious than I thought it would." Looking up at him hopefully, she asked "Could there be anything else someone would want you dead for?"

Gohan thought for a moment, then shook his head, disappointed. "Not that I can think of."

She sighed, her head falling into her hands. "Figures. This is going to give me a headache," she complained.

"Don't stress yourself out over it Bulma. I'm sure we'll find something. Don't worry," he said, hoping his words were true.

"Yeah, whatever," Bulma muttered, more focused on finishing off her cigarette. "You know I always do. Now get out of here. I have some worrying to do."

Giving her a smile, the demi-saiyan left the room and resumed his trek to Videl. With this new information in hand, new thoughts were occurring to the young man. Like the fact that while the agency may have known why they were putting a target on him, it was likely that the woman didn't and was only following orders. Considering that this agency was only used in dire emergencies, it was likely she believed she was still protecting people, just with a more merciless method. Though he didn't quite agree with the approach, Gohan could understand it; in fact, his own approach to destroying the warehouses of his customers was a last resort.

Both of them wanted to help people, that much was obvious. And similarly they had turned to more destructive methods. It was almost as if they were the same person, each of them taking on a new persona to combat the evils of the world—his being the Delivery Boy while hers being Agent Tan. Who knows, maybe in a different life their situations could have been reversed.

That wasn't a very comforting thought.

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><p><em><strong>Leave your thoughts, comments, review please<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter was brought to you by ShadowMajin**

**Chapter 7**

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><p>Gohan stood in front of the solid titanium reinforced door. He was staring at it as if it held all the answers he wanted. In a way it did. The person holding the answers to the many questions he had resided behind this door, though that person hadn't been a willing participant. In fact, it had taken an experimental truth serum to pry her lips open.<p>

Even more incredible was its side effects. Though Agent Tan had answered all their questions truthfully - she seemed to not have any recollection to the conversation. Even now she denied ever cooperating with them.

That was fine for the moment. In fact, Gohan wasn't even here to discuss her assassination attempts. He was more curious about her past - Videl Satan - the girl that she_ used_ to be. If there was anyway to get through to her, it would be by reopening old wounds and attempting to crack that shell of detachment that had become Agent Tan.

Steeling his nerves, Gohan pulled out the key to the door and unlocked it. He opened the door and began searching the room for its occupant. Immediately he located Agent Tan sitting on the opposite side, her back against the dreary cement wall and her arms wrapped around her bent legs - she was looking better, he observed. Face not so thin, eyes a bit more pronounced. The days spent in this new holding 'cell' minus Vegeta's 'visits' had obviously done her a world of good. But to his shame and guilt - she was still a little dirty, grimy and clothed in the same tattered rags.

Keeping an eye on her, Gohan reached down to grab a chair that was sitting by the door. He picked it up and moved it into the room. Closing and locking the door behind him, Gohan walked to the middle of the room and set the chair down, taking a seat.

She didn't move or react. She merely stared at him with calculating eyes. She was hard to read as it was, but the thick scab of flesh on her forehead was like an emotion barrier - preventing the natural formation of normal emotional expressions.

Gohan wasn't sure how to begin this conversation. Some sort of general greeting or other would be the normal way to begin but...he had the impression that he'd just be wasting his breath. Agent Tan had never returned his greetings before, so why would she start now?

Perhaps it would be best to plunge straight into his reasons for being here. "I have a few questions I'd like to ask you," he started, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his knees.

"I'd find myself loathe to answer," Agent Tan retorted.

Wow! Gohan was shocked. She had actually replied. Usually she just kept quiet, rarely ever saying anything of substance or quipping with her interrogator. Either she was getting tired of the questions or she was in a talkative mood.

Getting over his momentary shock, Gohan pressed on. "I was wondering if you could tell me about a girl I looked up. Her name was Videl Satan."

Agent Tan visibly flinched at the name. It was subtle though; had Gohan not been watching her as intently as he was, he would've missed the reaction entirely. Pressing on, Gohan continued, "I looked her up recently. She was a truly remarkable person - brave, inspirational and righteous. She fought crime you know," he pressed on, "every day at the risk of her life she would go out and fight, to preserve justice and to protect those that couldn't fight for themselves. A real people's hero - definitely someone I would have liked to meet."

Like a morning glory unravelling into full bloom in the morning, her eyes just held his like a flower absorbing the sun. She didn't speak - just stared in silence.

"I also read that she disappeared a few years ago during a fire." His eyes roamed over her burn for a second, before he shifted them back. "Seems she went into a burning building to save some people trapped inside, but...the fire was too strong, things escalated out of hand and Videl," he said the name with an uncalculated tenderness, "she...even though she managed to get some of the people out, the building was just too unstable, the fire too far gone so she didn't make out. She became another victim of the fire."

Gohan saw that she'd gripped the sides of her arms a tad harder, possibly digging her nails into her flesh as he told the story. Her face may have been displaying practiced indifference but her body language was another matter. Motivation by this, he pressed on. "The whole city, and most of the world were devastated by the loss. There wasn't even enough room to accommodate all the people that gathered for her memorial service . All the devastated faces of the people that looked up to her - it was really sad to see the-"

"And this has what, to do with anything?" Agent Tan interjected before he could finish his sentence. There was a certain edge to her voice that suggested some kind of discomfort or irritation with the topic.

Yeah, he was definitely touching on a sensitive subject here.

"Well, I just don't think she died that day," Gohan answered simply. "In fact, I believe that she survived that fire and is very much alive. I think she somehow ended up as a recruit of a government agency that purports to defend the world against greater threats." He took a deliberate pause before he looked her straight in the eyes and added, "Sound familiar?"

To his disappointment, Agent Tan's face just closed off completely. Unlike the almost curious brim of the morning glory from before, those blue eyes merely deepened. She made no attempt to confirm or deny that statement. He wouldn't be deterred though, he took her silence in stride and continued.

"The thing about this agency is that...well, it's solution to dealing with threats is murder." Gohan carried on. "I'm just having trouble believing that Videl Satan would go from saviour to killer so easily. Something must have happened to her, something must have shut down somehow for her to embrace this way of life - to become so hardened as to take the lives of others without any remorse. It's no wonder she never returned to her old life, to her family and the friends she left behind."

"If you're going anywhere with this sob story, I suggest you stop," Agent Tan spoke up. Then she sneered. "You're not gonna appeal to my sensitivities."

"'Course not, Del Tan has made it clear that she has none." Gohan relented. This was not going as he'd hoped. Not at all. "I just wanted to say that I admire everything Videl Satan stood for. We're very similar, she and I. The Delivery-Boy persona that your agency despises so much, that _you_ seem to despise so much, merely follows the same principles she did."

Something shifted in her eyes that suggested that what he'd just said - comparing the Delivery-Boy to Videl Satan was pure blasphemy. "Look, I'm sure you've done your research on me. You know I run a uranium mine and sell the ore to prospecting companies. You should also know that the uses for uranium are limited. It can make for a very good fuel source, but it can also be used as the main component for a destructive weapon - which is something I want my mine and my ore to have absolutely nothing to do with. Every company I've ever sold uranium to had to sign a contract of disclosure about their intended purposes with the ore. More than that, they had to contractually agree to never divert those purposes directly or indirectly towards the manufacture of weapons."

"And you're telling me this why?" Agent Tan eyed him irritably."Are you trying to make yourself feel better? So you can sleep better at night? Don't bother justifying yourself to me, O' Great Delivery-Boy. I care about your reasoning as much as I care about that dead cockroach in the corner."

Gohan turned his head from one side to the other until he found the cockroach the agent mentioned. "I can have that cleaned up for you," he offered as he looked back to her. "No need to make you suffer any more than necessary."

A harsh laughter filled the room. "Oh, like that month with that you kept me in that other room with your friends' routine 'visits' doesn't count? Yeah, I can see you really believe those words."

Gohan winced at that. That was obviously going to be a sore subject for some time. "I'm sorry about that, truly I am. I wasn't in the right state of mind when I took you there. I just felt so panicked, more so for my brother than myself about what you said. I was a little desperate for answers. I know you have no reason to believe me, but really, I'm sorry about that."

"Save it," she grunted as she straightened her legs out to lie on the floor, her arms crossing over her chest as she straightened up. "You've only confirmed what I knew you to be."

"A guy that doesn't like people trying to kill him?"

"A savage. A monstrous alien hiding amongst good people. You've only been pretending to help so that people don't realize your true nature—that you only exist to kill and destroy."

"Pretend?" Gohan asked bewildered.

"Yeah. I know you fought that Cell guy some years back. But I also know that more of your kind showed up even before that and destroyed East City." A smirk grew on her face. "And I just know there are more of you hidden on this planet - that Vegeta guy you're in cahoots with certainly fits the bill with his monstrous strength and alien powers. I'm not sure why you're waiting this long to finish what you started, but after everything you've put me through, I can very well imagine what your true purpose of inhabiting this planet is.

Gohan could feel his resolve slipping away. Inhabit the planet? What was that supposed to mean? Where else was he supposed to live? He was born here for crying out loud. He sighed, rubbing his temples. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go. She was supposed to come around to understanding why the Delivery-Boy did what he did, not twist everyone around to paint some grim picture. How she even found out about the day Vegeta, Nappa and their saibamen invaded the Earth was beyond him since most people seemed to have forgotten all about that incident. Perhaps human memory wasn't as short as he had thought.

"You're right about some things I guess" he relented, watching with dismay as a triumphant grin appeared on her face."My father was actually sent to this planet to destroy it."

"Not exactly doing a good job of it now, is he?" came Agent Tan's taunt.

"Because he fell in love with the planet." A small smile began working its way onto his face. "He found so many beautiful sights and good people that he couldn't let it be destroyed. So he defended the planet, even when its own _inhabitants_ wouldn't." Okay, he may have left out the part on amnesia on his father's part, but Gohan liked to believe that Son Goku's travels throughout Earth helped cement his place here. That he was an immigrant defending his home rather than an ironic protector. Semantics could be debated later though. "Sure, more of his people came to finish the job, but he stood tall and proud and fought tooth and nail to keep that from happening."

"People?" She scoffed at his use of term. "You mean species don't you? More of his barbaric monstrous _kind_."

"There was nothing monstrous about my father!" He defended almost harshly, but quickly reined in his emotions. Losing his temper was hardly going to win her over. "He was the kindest soul to ever live - a real champion of justice and I've done my best to try and follow in his example. I haven't always succeeded, but not everyone's journey is the same. I was terrified that day, when they invaded. I was only four years old, but I still went out to the battle field and fought for the freedom and safety of the earth. And when the space tyrant that had sent them here retaliated, I stood up and fought him too. And when that abomination Cell reared his ugly head - then too, terrified as I was - I stood up and fought."

Subtly, ever so slightly Videl moved her legs uncomfortably, but Gohan didn't even notice, he was too busy shaking his head.

"But in the end what did it all earn me? Scorn from the world, six bullets to the head, and a virus that practically left my body in a state of decay."

Videl merely pursed her lips as if to say, 'yet you're still here'

Frowning, Gohan lifted his eyes to meet hers. "But you know what? That wouldn't stop my father from doing the right thing and I won't let it stop me either. I know that letting men build uranium-based weapons is not good for anyone. Blowing up crooked business men's warehouses and factories is just a small price to pay to make sure that humanity doesn't destroy itself."

Videl was preparing to dish out another sarcastic comment when Gohan abruptly rose from the chair, placing his hand on the top rail. "I know you probably have some snide remark ready to diminish these actions, but whatever it is, it won't deter me from doing what's are greedy and reckless and if I have to - I'll protect them from themselves." Swiftly he picked up the chair by hooking it to his index finger and began to walk out.

Before he opened the door, he turned around, and gave her one last look. "The only thing I regret is that there seems to be no trace left of Videl Satan inside you. I know she would have understood where I'm coming from. How sad that all that's left of her is an ice cold shadow with nothing but blood dripping from her hands."

Not even bothering to let her respond to his speech, Gohan adjusted his hold on the chair and used his other hand to open the door. Just before he stepped out he heard her call out.

"The next time you want to bore me with pointless monologues, do me a favour and bring some cigarettes with you. I could use a smoke."

* * *

><p>Bulma as Gohan locked the door behind him, a downtrodden demeanor in his posture as he walked awy. She kept quiet as the young Saiyan proceeded down the halls at a slow pace, his failure to make a connection with the ex-heroine clearly weighing on him.<p>

Yet Bulma didn't move from her hiding place. While she would've loved to comfort the guy, she had a few choice words she wanted to throw at a certain agent and she was just bidding her time.

Let her confidence shield her for the moment. It would be nothing but tatters when she got through with it.

Though she hadn't planned on interacting with their captive, seeing Gohan enter the cell room on one of the security cameras had caught her attention. With no clue as to what he was planning, she had linked her cell phone with the security feed to keep tabs on their conversation while she hurried to the room to make sure that nothing bad happened.a Upon hearing Gohan's closing speech and Agent Tan's sarcastic reply, Bulma had figured out what the Saiyan had been attempting.

Well, it was time for the master to step up.

Remaining where she was for a few more minutes, Bulma then made her way to the cell door. She didn't bother picking up the chair because she didn't care to get comfortable with someone that could very well snap her neck without remorse. Unlocking the door, she stepped right in and shut it behind her.

"Two visitors in one day; I must be very popular," she heard Agent Tan comment sarcastically.

Oh, so now she decides to be talkative. "Hardly," she shot back as she leaned against a nearby wall. Pulling out her cigarette carton and lighter, she pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. A glance to the agent told her the woman was completely focused on the cigarette. "I figured it was time us girls had a chat."

Bulma noted that she was slow to respond, but when she did she said "With you? What makes you think you can talk with me and I won't just use you to break out of here?"

"Because there are two 'evil aliens' in the building that can have you pinned before your third step. Bulma stated calmly. "One of them might not even let you live to see daylight, assuming that you can actually stand to be in it."

Their captive made no attempt to make a move. "At least you brought some smokes," was all she muttered.

Bulma held out the carton towards her, but then paused. "You know, I would give you a cigarette, but considering that I'm the 'bad guy' here, perhaps it's more in character that I don't give you any." Taking a drag, Bulma inhaled deeply into her lungs, and the blew out the smoke directly towards the captive. "You can just watch me as I give you second-hand smoke. Sound good?"

Agent Tan growled, but otherwise remained silent.

Placing the carton in her back pocket, Bulma then slipped her free hand into her front pocket, taking another drag of her cigarette. "You know, I watched Gohan grow up. He's a sweet kid."

"Let me guess, you have a sob story too."

Bulma shrugged. "Too many to count, but I wouldn't waste my breath on telling them to you. You're not worth it." Another drag. "But he is right. Gohan's given up a lot for this world, but you wouldn't know of it considering how thankful everyone is of his efforts—or lack there of."

"I'm crying a river here," Agent Tan retorted sarcastically. "So he fought Cell—whoop-dee-doo. That doesn't make him any less of a threat."

Bulma ignored the taunt. It was just a low blow to throw her off her game. "He only became a threat when someone decided to make him one. Though unlike you, his own uncle decided that he would make for a great killing machine at the age of four. And ever since then, he's been put into life-and-death situations. Gohan was robbed out of a childhood, much like you were robbed of adulthood."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't. I did my research too, you know. Mind telling me what a secret government agency had in mind when they took a fragile teenage girl and made her an assassin? Please, enlighten me on how good of an idea that is."

Agent Tan was silent for several moments before she gritted out "I go after dangerous people. The people that have little care for life. The ones that hold entire villages hostage with fear so they can someday control everyone."

"I know, I know," Bulma interjected. "Your colleagues went after Cell when he was around and even went after the Red Ribbon Army when they were a threat. Problem is - they failed. Gohan as an eleven year old boy who stood his ground better than an entire group of trained killers. And before him, his father took down the Red Ribbon Army single-handedly. Is your boss jealous that there are people who can do what his cannot? Is that why he's targeting the very people who protect this planet?"

Again, the agent fell silent. Just from looking at her face, Bulma could tell that this woman was thinking about her boss and it didn't look like there was any love lost there. Could it be that she'd hit a nerve? That he _could_ be that petty? Maybe? No?

Oh, her face was hardening now, Bulma observed. Apparently her boss was the type after all.. That was one nerve struck. "That's sad you know. A man lashing out at people that can do his job better. He must be a real low-life."

"I wouldn't know," she heard the agent growl lowly.

"You better know," Bulma reprimanded. "You work for him after all. It's never a good idea to not care who you work for. That's just bad policy."

"…I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm giving you pearls of wisdom here, don't toss them aside." Looking at her half-used cigarette, Bulma took another drag before dropping it to the floor. She put out the burning bud with the heel of her shoe, smudging the floor with the ash. "But then, you're a big girl aren't you? Not just anyone can kill people so willy-nilly."

"That's right I can. I take care of killers and other monsters who've committed crimes that you can't imagine. That is who the agency goes after. That is why it exists! I've already told you, I do what I do to keep people safe!"

It was the first 'real' reaction Bulma had seen out of her, still she gave her a deadpanned look. "Are you sure about that? How much do you really know about the people you were assigned to? Maybe some of them were monsters, but others? Considering how easily you just doubted your boss's motives right now, for all you know some of the people you eliminated were not 'bad' at all. Power corrupts, you just have to look at human history, and something tells me that you don't think that your boss is immune. You could have killed some really good people and never known about it."

That thought seemed to have hit the agent hard. Was this really her first time considering that option? The poor girl. Yet, Bulma wasn't going to let this new advantage go. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if you had. I've seen all kinds of stuff being the head of a major corporation. Corporate espionage is a very deadly game."

"So deadly that you have to torture people?" Agent Tan spat back.

Oh, looks like she recovered some. There was a little bit more fight in her. "As if you haven't?" Bulma responded. "I've gone through your work history with the agency. You have quite a few occasions where you tortured people for information. Can't really call us out for something you've done on a regular basis."

Videl didn't flinch. "Oh, so I'm the bad guy now? Fact remains that you kept me in that filty room and let that sadistic, psychotic short bastard lose on me. You can't claim the high ground if you've fallen to my so-called low level."

Bulma shook her head. "I never said we were proud of doing that. In fact, we've never really done anything even remotely similar to that before you came along. You're just unhappy because it doesn't taste so good, being on the other side?"

"Oh, it's a blast. You should really try it. I'll even help you through it."

Bulma snorted, pulling out another cigarette. "I think I'll pass on that," she answered before she stuck the cigarette in her mouth and lit it up. She kept an eye on Videl, taking pleasure in the longing she spotted in her eyes - completely hypnotised by her latest cig. "Tell you what I'll do for you though. Since you've put so much time and effort into your job, I'll look into your boss for you - every little sordid detail of his life - so you can get to know him a little better."

"Pfft." Scoffed Videl. "You're going to attempt to dig up dirt on a man running an agency that isn't even known by most of the World Government itself? Okay, sure. Good luck with that."

Bulma blew out smoke before smirking at her. "I recovered information on you and most people in the world don't know you exist either." Pushing herself off the wall, she made her way to the door. "I'll let you know what I find out," she said as a farewell.

Once she was out of the cell and the door was securely locked behind her, Bulma let out a sigh. That had gone about as well as she thought it would. Reaching into her front pocket, she pulled out the tazer she'd hidden and stared at it. She hadn't even needed to use this little gadget either, though she had figured the chances were high that she would've.

All in all, she'd consider this meeting a success.

* * *

><p>This was boring, and Videl hated being bored just as much as she hated the fact that she had no hair to cover up with - thanks to that barbaric alien. Spending days on end in a boring little room without so much as a cigarette was bordering on cruel and unusual. Unfortunately her escape options were nonexistence at the moment. That tends to happen when your captors are super-powerful aliens who have a tendency to make things go boom.<p>

To be honest, Videl had no idea how long she had been in here. Without any way to tell when day and night was, the time spent in this place could've been weeks or months. Though since moving out of that other 'torture chamber' she'd been getting three square meals a day. Or she at least assumed it was three a day. It was the only way she could keep track of time and she wasn't going to let that small comfort out of her grasp.

Still, the least they could do was give her a deck of cards or a pack of smokes. She was going out of her mind with boredom here. The most she'd been able to accomplish was to rip out a piece of her already torn t-shit, turning it into a band that she wrapped around her forehead.

There hadn't been any conversations with these people since the Deliver-Boy and that blue-haired woman were last here. At last count, she had had eleven meals—so almost four days. Honestly, she wouldn't have minded a bit of small talk now, despite her anti-social behavior. It was ironic almost—she never talked with any of her co-workers, but now she wouldn't have minded some chit-chat, some small talk. Perhaps that's what boredom did to great minds. Heck, perhaps the agency should invest in it as a torture tech…

Wait…wait a minute there. Was this a brand new torture they were using on her? Those bastards. Those incredible, smart bastards. They were trying to break her with boredom! It was making so much sense now! Oh, she was on to them. She wasn't going to let them beat her after coming this far, no siree. She had to admit though, it was a very good attempt.

Suddenly, she heard the door's locks click, alerting her to a new visitor. Though her new realization allowed her to stare the person down as they swung the door open, a part of her couldn't help but feel relieved to finally have some contact with another person. She fully blamed being her boredom for this.

The blue-haired woman walked in, a thick folder held in the crook of her arm. It was only through pride that Videl resisted uttering the first words.

"You know, you can move around in here," the woman said in greeting. "It's not like we have the place booby trapped to keep you in that one place."

"I like it here," Videl retorted. "It's comfy. I'd recommend you find your own little spot, and never move from it."

Well, to be honest she had been moving around. Push-ups, sit-ups, basic exercises to keep her in some form of fitness. She hated idleness. Being idle made her agitated and being agitated made her hateful, so it all came full circle. Gotta love logic there. But still, she had found a pretty comfortable piece of wall and she wasn't going to give it up.

"Maybe another time," the woman answered before dropping the folder to the floor with a loud smack. Kneeling down, she then gave the file a push, causing it to slide across the floor to her. "I found this stuff on your boss. Not exactly an angel if you ask me."

Videl couldn't hold back her snort. Yeah, she could've said that much without this woman saying so. In all the years she had worked for him, he'd hovered high on the list of things she hated.

However, she didn't pick the file up immediately, opting to look at it for a few moments before looking back up at her guest. The two of them ended up staring each other down before the blue-haired woman cracked. "So, aren't you going to read it?" she ventured.

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "When I feel like it." Then with a false smile plastered onto her face, she said in a higher octave "I have a guest I have to entertain."

"Oh, so you're supposed to entertain me now?" The woman reached to her back pocket and immediately Videl's eyes focused as the woman's hand retrieved a carton of cigarettes. Oh what she would do for that glorious box of tobacco and nicotine. She could practically smell that beautiful, beautiful smell. "I hope you know how to do balloon animals. Those were always my favorite trick."

Videl continued to stare as a cigarette was placed in between the woman's lips, a lighter appearing almost out of nowhere. With a flash of movement and a click, a flame erupted out of the little lighter, setting fire to the end of the cigarette. Already the white paper was turning black, the plant leaves shriveling as they were burned. And then there was the smoke, that white cloud of smoke. Come to momma baby, she needed her smoke!

"So, you getting off?"

What? Where had that come from? Bewilderedly, Videl refocused her attention on an amused-looking blue-haired woman. Oh, that bitch. She was taunting her with that cigarette. Ugh, forget that boredom torture, all they had to do was smoke in front of her for days on end. Already she could feel her resolve breaking.

Agitated, Videl leaned forward and grabbed the file. Due to her irritability though, she had to grab at it a few times before she got a good hold. Pulling it onto her lap, she opened it up and began reading.

"About time—didn't think you'd ever open it up."

Videl scrunched up her face and mimicked the woman's words, her mouth opening and closing, but not making any sounds. She had passed cranky, and was probably teetering on depressed, so she'd take this juvenile mood and run with it - it was better than aggression under the circumstances. Withdrawal was a bitch.

After going through a few pages, it was clear to see that her boss was—as the woman had hinted in their last conversation—dirty. It seemed that twice in the past, someone had been in the position to replace him as head of agency, but each candidate had met with an unfortunate end. One mysteriously drowned while the other fell victim to a mugging gone wrong in a city park. Still, it was circumstantial at best.

Turning another page, Videl's face began to frown. This was a confidential file of one of the targets - a wasn't unusual - rouge officials could be deadly if push came to shove. This one though, she vaguely recalled that he was considered a reformer before he was killed by a sect of upset fanatics. Yet according to this the sect was just a cover for a sniper to blow his brains out.

Another page flipped and a revelation of a few more political assassinations, each one having some sort of conflict with her boss at some point in time. Hell, one of them had wanted to abolish the agency entirely, claiming that some of the targets had been innocent people.

Then came a long list of people Videl definitely remembered. Many a time when she had been called to her boss' office to receive an assignment, she'd run into these men. As she recalled, her boss was always very short with her when they left his office—she actually preferred the short explanations; it was less time spent in that guy's presence. And if she wasn't mistaken, she had actually terminated three of them personally. Their termination dockets had clearly outlined how they had plotted to overthrow the world government. From instigating vicious coup d'etats' to financing political mercenaries, Videl remembered their dockets well: the long list of innocent people that had died because of their heinous crimes and their cruel and perverse methods. Yes, this was definitely an assignment she had seen through to the end - and she'd been happy to take them out. These were the kind of men that had to be stopped before more villages lay barren in the wake of their bloodspill. And yet, she swallowed as her eyes continued to take in this information. And yet...according to this file, they'd each been heads of various government agencies. One for the 'intelligence' network, another for the world government police, and—oh dear lord—another as the head of the WWS - the bodyguard unit to the world leader himself.

The more information Videl read pertaining to other termination dockets, the more horrified she became. Sure, sure, some of the cases were legit, the targets had been a menace to the word - good riddance, but some...some should have never been on that list! Agency protocol was clear - only those guilty of taking human lives, or threatening to take human lives either directly or indirectly could make their way to the list. But what she was seeing here was just...urgh! Terminations of special interest groups, corporate espionage, insider trading - what the hell was this?

Her boss had used the agency as hired guns!

Her thick scabs began to twitch as beads began to form under the band wrapped around her forehead. No, no this couldn't be. This all had to have been manipulated by this woman to put her agency in a bad light. There was no reason to doubt the original assignment dockets she had received!

That was until she found some independent newspaper articles on each target. Since she had joined the agency, Videl lived a simple life just like any other agent. They lived in the compound (unless they were on 'assignment'), the agency was in full control of any exposure they had to the outside world. They didn't mind it - it was better to remove oneself from the possible contamination the media could bring. Having had been in the limelight in her previous life, she knew all too well the power of the media. Can you imagine an agent refusing to follow through on an assignment because they saw this and that about a certain target in the media and found themselves agreeing with their target's beliefs? Nothing would be done!

No, the assassins embraced a sheltered life, relying on the 'intelligence' agencies to bring back the correct information about who is a target and who is not. Their job - _her job_ was to terminate.

Now Videl was starting to feel sick. She had given the agency blind faith, though despising her boss as a person, she'd placed her trust in his integrity to uphold the agency's rules. But now? Now she and the other agents were being used as tools on the side to further her boss' personal agendas. She didn't want this. She never wanted this.

Videl could feel her fury growing. That son of a bitch! How many innocents had died because of his agendas?The way she saw it, _he _should be number one on the agency's list and as the top agent - _she_ should be the one to do the job. Oh, she wanted his lying, manipulative, and greedy blood on her hands.

But then what? The agency had become her whole life. What would she do after her revenge? She would have to find something else to do. But not killing - no more of that. _He, _would be her last job. But…the agency kind of owned her. They had ever since they pulled her out of that fire. They had raised her, trained her, and taught her to kill, the only thing she was good at. What could she even possibly do now? She practically had zero options. No, no that wasn't true. She could go to her father and then…then… who knows. At least she could finally live with him and talk with him instead of having those five minute phone calls they got to have.

But first...she would have to eliminate any ties she ever had to the agency. It's not as if they'll take the big boss' assassination lying down. She would have to take him out and convince them that 'Del Tan' had died doing it. But how?

A frontal assault wouldn't work. The agency was too powerful for that - she knew that only too well. Great, just great, she bit her lip and dug into her scalp. How was she supposed to fake her death _again? _She would need to cause a lot of destruction that couldnt possibly leave anyone alive - _yet_...get out alive. Her father could pull that off no problem, the amount of power he must possess to take out an entity like Cell must be enormous, but there was no way she was going to get him involved in this.

Wait, that was it! These aliens! They were destruction just waiting to happen! They had the same powers as Cell and her father! That Gohan or Delivery-Boy or whatever had come in with his sob stories about wanting to help her bla bla bla. He wanted Videl Satan, the champion of justice right? Well...this definitely fit into the job description but...that offer had been made a while ago now. Was the offer even still on the table? If he was a goody-too-shoe, perhaps.

Videl began to pull at the short haphazard locks in her hair. She fingered the bald patches were that alien bastard had had that golden light blade of his cut it down to the scalp. Yeah, she was growing warmer and warmer to this idea with each passing thought.

Actually, the more she thought about it, Gohan _did_ come across as that. So if she renounces her old ways, she figured she could convince him into letting her stay here and into helping her in her 'quest for justice'.

Yeah, yeah, she was liking this more and more.

Looking up, Videl found the blue-haired woman looking at her, her eyes analyzing her every move around her burning cigarette. Hmm, she needed to convince this lady to bring Gohan here. Perhaps instead of the tough agent, she needed to go at this with a different angle.

Softening her features, Videl swallowed and said shakily "Wou…could you tell that guy…the Delivery Boy…could you get him for me? I…I think we need to talk."

* * *

><p><em><strong>That's the chapter you guys. Please leave a review and let us know how the story is going so far.<strong>_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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><p><strong>Brought to you by Gue22 and Lilly-sama<strong>

**Cover by Lilly-sama**

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><p><em><strong>Lera Plateau – Southern District – 02H00 AM<strong>_

A lone figure floated in the air admiring his handy-work. Not even a spec of the large facility remained. In its place a huge 'DB' was Ki- etched into the ground. It was beautifully done - the best one yet in his opinion.

In the midst of his art work sat a bundled up group of ten guards and four scientists that were burning the midnight oil. "Tell your bosses to tell their bosses and their governments that the Delivery Boy's message is still the same: stop building these weapons, or find yourselves bankrupt."

He would have liked to linger a little more to admire his handy work, but his ears were already picking up the oncoming sounds of emergency services and law enforcement. In the distance, the twinkle of flashing lights was getting closer and closer.

It was time to go.

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><p><em><strong>South City – Southern District – 02H05 AM<strong>_

Groggily, he reached past the sleeping form of his wife, his eyes still closed as he picked up the phone."What is it?" he asked with a husky voice, irritated. It was unseemly to be woken up at this hour. "WHAT?" His eyes snapped open - he was fully awake now. "When exactly?" he hissed harshly, all traces of grogginess gone as his eyes narrowed dangerously in the dark. "I'm driving out right now." He hung up and flung off the covers with more than just a tad of unnecessary force.

Cursing, he flicked on the light and slipped on the black pants previously abandoned on the floor – there was no time to search for his underwear. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!"

"Blue, wha...what's going on?" a groggy voice called out from the bed.

"There's been an attack on the facility in Lera, I'm heading out," he spat without turning around. Roughly he pulled open a drawer and pulled out a t-shirt.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"Sleep Mira," he dismissed, slipping the t-shirt over his head and down baby-blue locks of hair. "I might be a while," he said as he grabbed his keys and slipped out the door.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ginger City- West District – 03H00 AM<strong>_

Gohan checked his watch and pulled up the thin fabric of his baklava-like mask. The trip from the Lera in the South Capitol had taken him exactly an hour as planned. Now, under the thick carpet of night, amongst thousands of streetlights illuminating Ginger City, the bright burning power of his own golden energy didn't stand out at all. He was just another twinkling diamond under the star strewn skies – another burning bulb amongst the pulsing city lighting. He sprung from his hiding place and levitated into the air, teal eyes peering down at the large cloud of steam pouring out of the giant cooler's mouth.

This was it – this was the place.

The large facility looked innocent enough: sky-scraping steel towers, parallel runs of insulated wires, large concrete domes thick and strong enough to withstand the force of earthquakes. It looked exactly like the one he was running on Frypan Mountain. Just another nuclear power plant hard at work to create vast amounts of electrical energy coursing through transmission lines to sustain the bustling life of the villages, towns and metropolises around Ginger City. Yes, it looked innocent enough, but Gohan knew better.

Sure, most of the Son Inc. uranium being used here was directed towards this legitimate activity—in the concrete domes, uranium was enriched to give off massive amounts of heat, the heat boiling water to create high pressurized steam to turn the large turbines of the copper-coiled generator to create electricity. The proof was in the overbearing heat and humidity shrouding him as the cooling tower puffed out steam like a giant cigar in the wind. But...buried deep within the solid structure of the plant lay a laboratory whose operations were anything but legitimate.

It was in this lab that uranium isotopes were being converted into highly radioactive plutonium injections to be shipped to various 'facilities'. Just before the incident with Yamcha and Videl Satan, he had successfully destroyed five such facilities posing as free treatment centers for the impoverished. Their true nature, however, was the abhorrent administration of these injections into unsuspecting human subjects. Under the guise of 'treatment research,' the patients were carefully observed in order to track and measure the detrimental effects of plutonium in the human body.

Scowling underneath his mask, Gohan surveyed the layout bellow him as he recalled the detailed plans of the plant's blue-prints. Unlike the complete annihilation of an entire missile assembling facility in South City earlier in the evening—with only a fiery, burning DB blazing from the ground—destroying this entire plant was impossible. Ginger City would be brought to its knees by the consequences of a power outage. No...his target was the secret lab. Not a scrap of it would remain after tonight. Then he'd visit the homes of the three people on his list—the unscrupulous scientists running the show to ensure that they never got the opportunity to create plutonium again.

He could almost hear a bitter feminine laugh blowing out with the wind as the face of a smug Agent Tan flashed into his mind at his resolve._ Don't look at me like that. It's not what you think. I'm not some kind of monster you know. I'm not going to kill anyone,_ he shot back at her defensively as if they had some kind of telepathic connection. Thankfully the realisation of his bizarre behaviour hit home before he could get carried away. _Focus Gohan. Don't let those stone-cold blue eyes unnerve you. You're doing the right thing._

Clearing his thoughts, Gohan descended to the roof and got to work.

* * *

><p><em><strong>West City – West District – 04H00 AM<strong>_

Irritated, Videl hauled herself from her little corner and paced the short length of her 'room'.

Eight meals! It had been eight meals since she'd asked to see Gohan and...nothing. Not a word. She hated this! She hated uncertainty more than anything. No matter how unpleasant or ugly the truth – she preferred the comfort of its certainty over this...this...agonizing suspended state of limbo! All the uncertainty surrounding her situation was driving her crazy. She couldn't really sleep or feel calm; her appetite was starting to dwindle once again and it was all because of that feeling: the uncertainty about the authenticity of the blue-haired woman's information, the uncertainty about the guilt of her boss...the uncertainty about the innocent blood on her hands.

Damn it! She rubbed her face. The uncertainty about her request! Was that Gohan guy going to accept her request and come and see her or not? Grr...how she hated the uncertainty of unanswered questions.

"And I hate this fucking smell!" she yelled, ramming a fist into the wall. "Ah! Fuck!" She winced, grabbing her hand as she pulled back. What the hell were these walls made out of anyway? Damn it! Damn it!

She knew she was a prisoner, she accepted that, but on top of the intense cravings for a cig — since that witch's visit, the irritability and headaches that went with it had gotten worse — she was also more than just sick of smelling like stale sweat. Though she was grateful to have been 'upgraded' from her previous dungeon to this room with an actual toilet and sink; a bit of soap, some anti-percipient and clean clothes would go a long way towards making her feel like a human being again. Kami damn it! She was going to go mad behind these walls if she didn't get some answers soon.

Giving up on the fruitless pacing, she settled back into her little spot and sat down on the floor with her back resting against the wall. She fingered the file that the blue-haired woman had brought for her and began to look over its contents once again. Sitting on the floor she removed all the pages and spread them out in front of her, her eyes darting haphazardly from job to job.

"I wouldn't want to visit me either, smelling like this, looking like this," she mumbled, looking herself over. Truth be told, she was probably just setting herself up for disappointment by hoping he'd come. She'd been nothing but a complete bitch to him in their dealings. She'd made two attempts on his life, spat in his face and repeatedly mocked his efforts at civility. Really, why _would_he come?

Still, it's not as if she had anything better to do in here. She couldn't even sleep. Holding on to the hope that he'd come, rehearsing the lines she'd feed him if he did, was certainly better than thinking about the faces of the targets she'd eliminated. Funny how in the past, prior to this mess, thinking about their cold and unmoving corpses, eternally neutralized and unable to cause harm ever again had always brought her comfort. She would think of them and fall into a peaceful dreamless sleep, knowing that the world was better off. But now...since eight meals ago—as she roamed her eyes over her list of terminations, looking at all these dead faces—that sense of comfort, that security was now shattered.

She brought her hands up to her face, staring at them dispassionately; they were trembling, unable to keep still. She wished she was able to say for sure that it was only withdrawal making her this way. Surely she wasn't feeling guilty over something she was yet to confirm as the truth? Guilt was something Del Tan had no time to indulge in. It was nothing but a handicap out in the field, a waste of time. And besides, she had spent so much time as Videl Satan drowning in it. This was one of the reasons she'd done everything she could to severe any remnants of that teenage girl out of Del Tan. But now she needed the opposite, she needed to scrape together any bits and pieces of that naive and arrogant girl from the recycle bin.

She needed to assemble her back together somehow, allow her to climb out and take center stage. She was simply no good at dealing with people as Del, and if Gohan did come, she would need every last bit of Videl to come out and somehow talk that sap into helping her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>07H15 AM – Origano City – Central District<strong>_

Impho Pho could best be described as a cliché of the ideal man. He was tall, dark and strikingly handsome. His designer suits were tailor made and imported from Satan City, his shoes custom made with alligator skin, linen twine and glove-soft goatskin. They were even topped off with a real golden buckle. He cut his own hair and kept it styled in an orderly fashion using extra strong gel. He was as meticulous about his appearance as he was about everything else in his life. But his physical appearance spelled the end of the line for anything clichéd about him. The rest was rather exceptional.

At the age 42, Impho Pho was as accomplished as he was impressive to the eye. He was sitting at the top of the world's most secret and dangerous organization. He wielded power akin to none other on the whole planet. Sure, there was the world saviour – a man Impho Pho detested with a passion. See, Hercule may have very well been the strongest, most known and loved figure in the world, but the man was a buffoon—a simpleton that was incapable of using his influence to bring the world to order. Impho Pho had no use for such a man. And sure, there was also the World President — another he had no tolerance for. Under his clumsy reign, the world had fallen under anarchy and disorder. From alien invasions to ridiculously powerful creatures whose origins still remained mysterious. No, the World President was not even worth a mention, he was just an obstacle in his way to achieving ultimate order.

Above all, Impho Pho was an impatient man. On any given day, you'd catch him glancing at his watch and tapping his left foot in agitation. It was this impatience that made his manner brusque and kept his words short. Most of his agents disliked him, even though they feared and respected him. The man detested things that dragged or lingered. His life was ruled by the soothing tick of the clock and the desire for order.

His foot tapping anxiously underneath his desk, he glanced at his watch, cursing as he cut the satellite connection. The conference call with the clients from the nuclear facilities in Lera and Ginger Town had dragged on long after what had needed to be said was said. Understandably the guys in Lera were livid – not a trace of their facility remained after last night. The ones in Ginger Town less so—the destruction of the lab was an inconvenient set-back, but the main assembling facility was still in-tact. However, listening to them bitch on and on for an hour on a Sunday morning was a waste of time. He glanced again at the three heads of his favourite possession – his wristwatch – and frowned. See, most people didn't seem to realise this but the most important invention ever made in the history of mankind was a wristwatch. Strapped snugly on the left or the right, it spoke of class, taste, functionality, punctuality and ultimately order. And that damn call had lasted too long, a useless activity that served only to delay the constructive measures needed to put this mess Agent Tan had created back into order.

He slid the piece of paper on his large desk an inch down just so it would be level with the corner of his laptop. Pushing his chair back, he rose from his seat, deliberately ignoring the two incoming calls from the players in the East and North. He could see their names flashing impatiently on his screen. Picking up would waste even more of his time. Besides, he could already sum up the crux of what they wanted to know. They were understandably on edge given the confirmation that their mutual enemy was still at large despite having been told otherwise. What they really wanted to yap on and on about was simple — after the attacks from last night, were their own facilities next?

He hated this Delivery Boy, this audacious, self-righteous and not to mention super-powerful hybrid. He was fucking with his carefully laid out plans for order and even more, he was the reason why his Sunday itinerary was interrupted. Interruptions were a clear symptom of poor planning and disorder. With his handsome face devoid of any patience or amusement, he moved across the room and unlocked the safe, pulling out one of the numerous phones inside.

He placed a call.

"Agent, what's the progress? Have you been able to locate Agent Tan?" he spoke into the receiver, his eyes staring at his reflection on his spotless table. "I see, I see. Still no trace." He then scowled. "Let's put the search on hold for a while shall we? Her last target is still very much alive, still very much at large, unabashedly terrorizing the world." He held the phone against his ear, listening as the agent on the other end of line filled him in until...his foot began to tap impatiently. "That's useless to me right now Agent Khakhi. All useless. We can proceed under the assumption that she's been killed or worse." A frown. "In her absence, you're this agency's number one now. I'm pulling you from the search; I'll give that to someone else." A pause, and then ripples of anger ran down his face now. "Protesting orders is not in your job description Khakhi, don't waste valuable time." Another glance at his watch. "Your new orders are to find this target, identify him and bring the info in; everything Agent Tan uncovered has unfortunately been lost with her." Another frown as he spotted a stray hair in his reflection. "We have one lead: he's the son of an ex-martial arts champion – Son Goku." His mouth fell into a straight line as his face furrowed in impatience.

"Do not even think about engaging him, understood? Just bring in full surveillance once he's identified. That's all for now agent."

He cut the line.

* * *

><p><em><strong>11H17 AM – East District – 439 Mountain Area<strong>_

Gohan grabbed both ends of his pillow and covered his head, but it was no use. He could still hear his brother pounding on his door. Why? Why did his house have to be so close to home? He never got any privacy. "So much for moving out," he grumbled.

"I don't care if its titanium or what this time 'round, I'll just break it down again Gohan," yelled Geten from his front door. "Stop kidding around and open up!" Goten continued to pound on the door.

Gohan sighed, tossing the pillow aside. It was useless as a sound barrier anyway. "Please go away Squirt, I'm trying to sleep!"

"Tell that to Bulma! She's screaming my ear off on my cell. She says both your lines are switched off and that it's an emergency! I'm counting to three and then I'm busting in Gohan. Your choice!" yelled Goten.

"Damn it!" Gohan threw off the covers, marching downstairs in a huff to open the door. An emergency? His heart hammered just a little louder. He'd been AWOL the whole weekend taking care of DB business so if something had happened with Videl Satan, he wouldn't know a thing about it. Damn it! He just hoped that everything was okay.

Goten blinked. One minute he was standing outside the door about to kick it down; the next it had opened and shut in his face, the only evidence that his brother had come out being the missing phone from his hand. "I'm telling Mom that you slammed the door in my face!" he shouted before storming off.

"What's the emergency Bulma? Is it Videl Satan?" Gohan exclaimed anxiously into the phone.

"Ooh! My! You must have a thing for your little prisoner. You hear emergency and the first person you're concerned for is our resident agent, eh? I'm hurt," teased Bulma.

"Don't even kid about that. What's the emergency? Is she okay?" He stood in his hallway, his face tilted to the side, imposing the cell between his cheek and neck while his other hand was leaning his weight against the wall.

Bulma sighed. "Would you quit asking me about _her_? She's the same as when you last saw her okay? She hasn't crushed a cyanide tablet in her mouth or anything worthy of a good spy movie. The emergency is not in my basement. It's with you dumbass."

"With me?" Gohan blinked, confused.

"Tell me, have you seen the news lately?" enquired Bulma.

"The news? No. Not really. I've been busy, I was out...late." He moved his hand from the wall and rubbed his eyes. He was actually still rather sleepy. He'd only gone to bed three hours ago.

"Oh, I know that Mr Delivery Boy. I know you've been out on the town, blowing up buildings, having a real blast. Pun intended. Tell me Gohan, are you out of your fricking mind?" Her voice rose to a screech. "Or do you have a death wish?"

"You know about last night? How come? And why are you so worked up about it anyway? I'd already told you guys tha-"

"Why am I so...why am _I_ so worked up?" she screamed, cutting him off. "Have you forgotten a certain agency under a certain Mr. Pho that's out to kill you? Have you?"

Gohan winced. No one could hurt his ears like Bulma or his mom. "Of course not Bulma. I haven't forgotten. Their agent can't hurt me now. She doesn't have the means," he reasoned.

"Urgh! Would you stop making everything about her?" screeched Bulma. "Damn it! Use your brain for crying out loud. You practically spat in the agency's face last night with all your scribblings, boldly declaring that you're alive and well, and out to get its clients. You think Impho Pho is just gonna sit it out and wait for his top agent to resurface before he tries again?"

"I just-"

"He won't!" She cut him off. "He could very well be sending out every one of his agents to get you _right now._" She emphasized the last two words.

Gohan frowned, his face etched in seriousness. "Let them come, I'll be ready for them."

"You lunatic!" Her voice rose even higher this time. "You're strong, but you're not immortal! The 66 should have taught you that!"

"I never said that I was imm-"

"Let me finish!" she screeched so much that he had to hold the phone away from his ear. "They could have any number of tricks and bio-weapons at their disposal, and depending on the different kinds, they could target you and unleash them anywhere at any time. If they get desperate, they may not care who else they take down in order to get to you. You are a businessman Gohan, don't forget that to Pho, this is just business – think!"

"I..." His throat dried up. Something like the 66 or worse being released at his office where there were hundreds of employees just to get to him sent chills down his spine. No, he hadn't thought about it quiet like that when he'd made the decision to act this weekend.

"You were safe when they thought you were dead; we could have used the time to gather evidence via a legal route and put a stop to them. But you had to be all dumb and macho like a crazed Saiyan. Humph! You've really done it this time Kiddo."

"I didn't mean to put anyone else in danger. Those facilities had to be taken out. I did what had to be done."

"Oh? Well, okay then hero. Congratulations, you're officially a world-wide sensation now. Those scientists you tossed out of the lab had their phones on them. They recorded everything; nice mask by the way."

"So that's how you knew so fast," he said lamely.

"Like I said – world-wide sensation. Turn on any news channel or website and there you are. Your little speech seems to be very popular. Heard the guys from Satan Toys are thinking of turning you into an action figure – as a villain."

"Great," he muttered, scowling.

"Just remember that Pho most probably knows your identity, you have to be careful."

"I will. Thanks Bulma," he sighed. "And sorry if this puts you in the line of fire."

"Well on the up-side, Vegeta's out of the gravity room, acting all protective. At least he's actually spending time with his wife like a normal human being."

"_Do not insult me Bulma. I am not a human being!"_ Gohan heard Vegeta protest in the background.

Bulma merely giggled. "By the way, I forgot to tell you, I shared Pho's file with Videl a few days ago."

A tension immediately developed in his stomach. "You did?" His breath quickened. "And?" he exhaled slowly, anxious to hear if the information had touched her in any way at all.

"Listen to you. Kami, you're so transparent. She asked to see you. That's all."

The tension spread itself higher, settling heavily in his shoulders. "She did?"

"Yep!" chirped Bulma.

"Well, I..." He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. What was it with him? Why did he want her to change so badly? Would a flicker of remorse on her face make him feel better about the attempts she'd made on his life? He didn't know. He didn't have an answer. Just that...he wanted to see her reaction to the file as soon as possible. That's all he knew for a fact.

"You still there Gohan?"

"Uh, yeah. I have a Lil'Bandits baseball game later, can't miss it. Need to sleep a bit before then. The kids have really been training hard for this so...I guess I'll stop by and see her after."

"No rush. She's already waited so long anyway. A few more hours to make her squirm a bit more suit me just fine."

"That's a mean thing to say Bulma. I'm not trying to make her squirm. Today is just a bit tight, that's all." he said defensively.

"Feh. Like I care," dismissed Bulma. "Just be sure to stop by my lab after, you hear? Oh and say hello to Yamcha for me."

"No problem, I will."

"Right then. Good luck on the game Coach Son," she giggled.

"Thanks. We'll talk about Capsule Corp's co-sponsorship of the team when I come, right?"

"Goodbye Gohan. Don't forget to give Goten back his phone," she immediately hung up.

Gohan chuckled.

* * *

><p><em><strong>19H20 PM – West District - Capsule Corp. <strong>_

Gohan held onto the key longer than was necessary before making the decision to finally insert it. He was already here, so lurking outside the door felt kind of silly. It was silly to feel nervous about seeing her. After all, this time round, he didn't have an agenda, he was only here because she'd asked for him. Best to get this over and done with. He started to turn the key, but stopped, pulling it out again.

_"The next time you want to bore me with pointless monologues, do me a favour and bring some cigarettes with you. I could use a smoke."_

That was the last thing she'd said to him. Actually, that was the only constant in their few conversations – her desire to pollute her lungs with nicotine. It was cruel he supposed, keeping an addict locked up like that with nothing but cravings for company, even though in the long run it would do her a world of good to just quit the nasty habit. He sighed, turning around and walking away from the door.

He meandered back to the third floor and scrounged around Bulma's lab. Sure enough, he found several boxes of cigarettes in one of her cupboards. He grabbed a box and made his way back to the basement.

Standing outside her door once again, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he let himself in.

Blue eyes bored at him from her favourite spot on the floor. Several pages from the file Bulma had shared with her lay on the floor, spread out in front of her as if she were putting together a puzzle.

Gohan pushed the door shut behind him and waited. "You wanted to see me?"

"That was nine meals ago."

"Yeah I know, but if the invitation's expired..." he shrugged, turning right back around as if to head out—

"No!" she yelled."That's not what I meant. I mean it's not like I expected you to drop everything and come rushing over—I know you're busy. I just meant...all that waiting, I...I...just didn't know if you were gonna come." She fidgeted with her hands. "I haven't exactly given you reason to wanna see me, have I?" She tried for a weak smile which failed. "The shooting and virus and all that..." she trailed off. Okay, so this wasn't going so well.

"I was just out of town on a few errands, but I'm here now."

"Yes. Thanks, I...I'm grateful that you're here."

"Oh, I...I brought you these." He dug into his pocket and pulled out the box of cigarettes as he began to take a few steps in her direction."I don't smoke so I don't know if they're any good."

Videl stared up at the box on offer with huge disbelieving eyes. Her heart was already pounding with anticipation as she accepted it with a shaky hand. Just the feel of the glossy texture, the way the pressure from her fingertips could trace the individual rolls inside the soft packet was enough to quicken her breathing. Before he could change his mind, she tore through the seal on the packet and pulled one out, placing it between her lips. Her eyes darted about almost desperately when she realised that she didn't have a light.

"Oh, erm...didn't think about that," Gohan picked up on her predicament. "Here," he said, offering a finger.

Slightly startled by the sudden appearance of a hot golden glow, Videl moved her face back, but the cigarette had already caught fire and Gohan had already moved away from her. He was already standing behind the door again.

"Sorry if that startled you," he apologised.

Videl was already over it. That first drag, that smooth burn down her throat and lungs, the feel of that nicotine seeping into the bloodstream was better than anything she had ever experienced. With smoke blowing out from her mouth and nose, Videl sighed in pleasure as she took another drag.

Gohan coughed. He couldn't help it. Though his sharpened senses were mostly beneficial, they also had their draw backs. He had been in the presence of Bulma indulging like this numerous times, but by Kami he had never seen her go through a cigarette quiet as fast or with as much fervent pleasure as Videl Satan was doing now right now. It almost felt as if it was something he should be giving her privacy to indulge in.

"I...thank you for this. I feel almost human again," said Videl, a small satisfied smile hinting at the corners of her mouth. It was perhaps the first appreciative tone Gohan had ever heard from her.

"You're welcome." He scratched his head, feeling silly for some reason. "Most people with arsonphobia don't smoke."

"Yeah, I know. It was dumb to think I could somehow get a handle on it, if I lit little flames near my face everyday. ah well." She chuckled. "I know you're a busy man so I'll get straight to the point."

Gohan straightened up, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"I'd like to be able to apologise to you in the future, and even though I don't expect your forgiveness, I..." She paused to clear her throat. "If all this..." she pointed at the pages before her, "if all of this is true then I-"

"You doubt Bulma?" He sounded incredulous.

"It wouldn't be the first time fabricated information was used against me," she shrugged. "Look Gohan, you seem like a good person, you really do; which is perhaps the only reason why I'm not dismissing all this information that your friend dumped on me. If the last seven years of my life have been a lie, I..." she shook her head. "I need to verify it so I can take responsibility and do something about it."

"It's all genuine you know, Bulma would never try to deceive you like that."

"I know how you see me. You think I've changed from the girl you read about in the papers. You think I somehow switched sides from good to bad, but you're wrong you know. I'm still her, just less...naive, less arrogant. I used to jump in head first, kicking and swinging and at the end of the day, I'd have the bad guys nicely tucked in behind bars." She smiled nostalgically. "But I grew up." The smile disappeared. "And now I slowly and carefully move in the shadows to eliminate the monsters that prowl our world."

"You can't just kill people, even the guilty ones. It's wrong."

"Feh, let's just agree to disagree on that one shall we? I have no tolerance for those that would take the lives of innocent people. Do that and you've as good as forfeited your own life. I take the defence of others very seriously. Besides, capital punishment the world over is and will forever be a controversial topic."

Gohan scowled. "Assassinating people in the shadows is not capital punishment. Not that I'm in favour of the latter either."

Videl chuckled, "Like I said, let's not argue this one. I'm not trying to convince you to see it my way. No two people can have identical values."

"I don't think I could be content with not trying to convince you to see things differently. I'm sorry."

"I can understand that. You value human life, even the not-so-worthy ones. Which is why I need your help."

"My help?"

"I need to get to the bottom of this," she said as she pointed towards the documents. "If Pho is guilty," her eyes flashed something dangerous, "then he needs to be stopped."

"Agreed. Just give Bulma some time. She'll find a way to assemble enough information to go to the authorities and—"

"Are you fucking joking? The authorities? Don't be so damn naive."

Gohan set his mouth in a straight line. This girl could be so rude. "Bulma has very good contacts," he said stubbornly.

"I'm sure she does. And I'm sure she wouldn't want any of them to end up on this list for poking their noses in his business!"

Gohan flinched from the harsh tone.

"Look Gohan, I meant what I said. The defence of others – I take that very seriously. That is the one thing that Videl Satan, Del Tan and that little boy that stood up against Cell all have in common – the will to put ourselves on the line in order to put out monsters that would hurt the helpless. Putting a long list of authorities on this matter can only end in tragedy for them and their families." She fingered the soft cigarette pack and crossed her feet underneath her. She tilted her face up at him, those blue eyes taking on an extra dimension as they held his. "Help me. Let me out of here and let me take care of this matter without endangering anyone."

Gohan stared down at her in disbelief. "Let you out?"

"Yes. Please." Long lashes met with the base of her eyelid as she blinked, still holding his gaze.

Gohan frowned. Her voice was so soft, he found himself having trouble reconciling it to the usual dry and sarcastic one.

"I'll use some contacts in the intelligence agency under one of my inactive aliases," she continued, "I'll get the facts straight and bring my boss, hell I'll bring the whole agency down. Just get me out of here, please."

That softness in her voice again. Gohan stared down at her. Without the rag around her forehead, with longer hair hanging in pig-tails on her shoulders, he could very well have been looking at the eyes of the girl he'd spent so much time staring at in the pictures from the archives. He could see the same unquestionable confidence, the same uncompromising resolve and to his surprise, he felt a small pull in his gut from that youthful beauty. He had to remind himself that though similar, this was no longer the same girl. "I'm sorry Videl, but I can't just set you free. The last time I let you go you—"

"I know." She turned her face away momentarily. "I know." She closed her eyes and shook her head. Gripping the soft pack she jumped to her feet and took two steps towards him. She would have taken four or five more, but refrained. It would be embarrassing to get too close smelling as she did. "I know you have no reason to trust me, I know that but—"

"No, I don't." Gohan folded his arms across his chest. "You're dangerous."

"Then keep an eye on me!" she blurted. "Place an ankle-bracelet on my ankle to restrict and monitor my movements, whatever you want. Just...please I'm begging you." She forgot to keep her distance and took the last few steps towards him. "I have to get to the bottom of this. I can't sit back and wait. I can't allow him to sit in that big office of his, armed with the world's best assassins, plotting the demise of more innocent people!" she said heatedly, imagining him in those ridiculous suits, fixing his hair as he glanced at his watch, dismissing an agent after issuing a false assignment. That thought just got her crazy! "I haven't been able to sleep, I...if I've killed innocent people then I..." she swallowed, unconsciously touching his arm, gripping rather hard as she exhaled. "Gohan, I know I'm your prisoner. You can do with me what you wish after, but I...I'll follow whatever rules, I'll do whatever you want, just...please, please." She tilted her face up to his, her eyes fluttering with hopeful luster. "Let me root this out. You and I, let's do it together."

"I'm sorry, but no. I just don't trust you."

"I see." She let go of his arm and turned around. "I understand."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Let us know how the story is going so far. Till next time...<strong>_


	9. Chapter 9

*** Please note that the previous version of Chapter 9 was incomplete - this is the complete version.**

*** Sorry for the confusion x_x**

Chapter 9

**Brought to you by ShadowMajin, Gohan-To-The-Max and Gue22**

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><p>The moment the key left the lock, ensuring that no one would be opening the impenetrable door any time soon, Gohan sighed loudly. Ever since Videl had asked him to let her go, the young man had felt as if he had couldn't breath, that he had been holding his breath despite the pressure, the need for answers presented by his captive. In all honesty, he wished he could have given her those answers without letting her running about, but considering their circumstances…<p>

That was why she wasn't going to be roaming about any time soon.

Wiping his hand over his face, Gohan slowly calmed himself down. That request of Videl's had riled him up more than he thought it would. It was just another sign that he was too close to this matter and that he was running on emotions. Perhaps it would be best if he took a little time to unwind and reconsider her request?

Gohan shook his head. Even if he did reconsider it, the answer would just be the same. There was no way he was letting her out, especially after two assassination attempts. She already had her chance to go free and she wasted it. There was nothing else to it.

With his mind set, Gohan began walking from the door. He needed to go see Bulma mostly because she had requested his presence beforehand. It was time to see what she wanted and perhaps she could help calm him further down. What ever she wanted to talk about had to be more enjoyable than what had gone down in that cell.

It wasn't long before he found himself in the familiar setting of Bulma's Lab. The place was the same as always with various parts of machinery and blueprints lying about. There was even a small station that kept track of all security feeds throughout the building, including Videl's cell. It was there he found the Briefs woman and she just happened to be in a contemplative mood at the moment.

"Um Bulma?" he spoke up as he closed the distance between them. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Bulma made no response, seemingly stuck in what ever reflection she was stuck in.

"Bulma?" he tried again only louder this time. "Hello?"

That stirred the woman out of her thoughts. "Hmm? Yes?" she said as she looked up to him. A moment later and her eyes sharpened, indicating that she was back in full control. "Gohan, we need to talk."

O…kay. That didn't sound ominous.

"I heard your conversation," the Briefs woman said, indicating with her hand to the screen that featured Videl's cell. Though there wasn't any sound coming from it, Gohan assumed there was a mute button since Bulma claimed to have heard them. "And it got me thinking: this girl has no reason to trust what we've said."

"And we don't have a reason to trust her," he replied. "What are you getting at?"

"It just occurred to me that what we've presented her with—the file on all of her hits— pretty much makes her entire life a lie. That she's been manipulated and used all of this time. And if that was how her boss behaved, why would it be any different for the people that oppose him? He obviously made up information and we have the same ability, even reason to make it up."

"But we've been nothing but honest with her!" Gohan exclaimed. "How could she think we're lying to her now?"

"Think of it this way: if you were lied to your entire life, you'd think everyone was lying to you. Her boss ruled her entire life and he was lying to her the whole time. Now we're in control and that lumps us into the same group as her boss. If he lied, then logically so do we."

Gohan considered that. That made some sense, but yet he felt like that didn't excuse her for all that she had done. Yes, she was being led astray, but it wasn't fair of her to lump them in the same group as that Pho guy. And as he pointed out, they had been nothing but truthful with her. While he wished he could let her go, she was much too dangerous to be released, end of story. As Bulma earlier—though perhaps not in this context—she could make another attempt on his life and innocent bystanders could get caught in the crossfire. This way, they had one less person to worry about.

And yet, he could still see the sincerity in her eyes as she apologized and begged for his help. There was just something about her there that stuck in his mind and it wasn't letting go anytime soon.

Though he hadn't replied to her, Bulma seemed to correctly assume that he was still not convinced of her argument. Sighing, she turned in her chair to stare at the security feed. "I'm letting you know now that I'm going to help this girl."

That tore Gohan out of his reverie. "You're what?" he shouted in surprise.

An annoyed look appeared on Bulma's face. "You heard me. This girl has asked for our help, yours in particular. Who are we to deny it to her when she seems to be turning a over new leaf? She said she had some contacts she could get in touch with, why not check them out?"

Turning her head to look back at him, she saw the incredulous look that was on Gohan's face.

"Don't worry, I'll be watching her the entire time. You think I'd let her do as she pleased? Have more faith in me than that!"

"But you're talking about letting her out! After what she did—"

"You're doing what!"

Bulma and Gohan jerked their heads around to see Vegeta standing in the doorway, looking enraged. Apparently he didn't agree with letting Videl out either. "Are you two insane? Why are you even considering letting out a killer?"

"Not me, Bulma," Gohan immediately said, pointing a finger at said woman.

"Excuse me?" Bulma snapped at him.

"Are you forgetting that we tortured her? Do you think she's just forgotten about that?" Vegeta shot back. "She hasn't forgotten it in the least and you can bet she'd want revenge for it. As a trained assassin, she's trying to work on your emotions to lower your guard before she stabs you in the back. Gohan here at least has the sense to realize this, which is more than I can say of you, Bulma!"

"As much as it pains me, Vegeta's right here, Bulma," Gohan said. "We can't afford to let her out of that cell. She's too dangerous."

"More dangerous than a couple of Saiyan warriors?" Bulma raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you the one that said to use my head before acting? She's the one that let out the 66. Who knows what else she could get her hands on if we let her run free. Instead of finding out, it would be a lot better to keep her where she is, neutralized."

"Or just kill her and be done with," Vegeta added.

Despite the fact that the votes were against her, Bulma refused to get in. "I don't care what you two think. My intuition is telling me that his girl is being honest with us about finding out about her old assassinations. Whether you like it or not, I will be helping her."

"You idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Vegeta bellowed.

"What was that?" Bulma shrieked in return.

As the couple glowered at each other, Gohan let out a pained sigh as he closed his eyes. He knew just where this was going: a lot of screaming and fighting between the two most stubborn people on the planet, mostly likely followed by a session of very angry sex. It had happened the last six times the two had a row with each other, why would this one be any different. Glancing to his watch, he quickly realized that he was starting to run out of time. Work was for him in the morning and he was beginning to run dangerously low on sleep. It was time to call it a day before fireworks began flying, both figuratively and literally.

"We'll talk about this later," he spoke up, getting the attention of the two Briefs. "It's getting late and I need to get some sleep before I go to work in the morning. I'll stop by when I'm done and we can resume this conversation. And Bulma," here he looked right at the blue-haired woman sternly, "don't let Videl out of her cell until then. I'm the only person that's done something idiotic today and I want to keep it that way. Understood?"

* * *

><p>Robert Johnson, husband, father of three, director of the Federal Intelligence Agency. Killed in a car accident on the way to work.<p>

Siom Prabakaran, husband, father of one, director of Internal Stats and Affairs. Killed in terrorist attack at the World Embassy that claimed the lives of twelve others.

Bradley Lundigrad, no next of kin, Senator on Domestic Security Council. Found in pool deceased after suffering a heart attack and falling in.

These were just three of the people Videl had been ordered to kill while apart of the agency. All three men she had seen exiting Impho Pho's office, giving her a good look at her target. Other than that similarity, each one had stood as a threat to shutting down the agency right underneath Pho's feet and Pho had taken action to ensure they did not succeed.

Videl could remember each instance like it was yesterday. She had placed a small explosive on the inner side of Johnson's front left tire. Once he was on the interstate between his house and office, she had activated the explosive. The device wasn't meant to blow the whole car up, but just to puncture a large enough hole in the tire to make Johnson lose control of his car. He had ended up driving into oncoming traffic and took a head-on collision that killed him on impact.

Prabakaran had been much more difficult. Videl had been trying to find a way to get at him for two weeks before an unexpected terrorist attack had occurred at the World Embassy. Under cover of the chaos, she had slipped in and shot Prabakaran dead, allowing the terrorists to take credit for the slaying. Of course, she was also responsible for putting down the attack, tracking down and killing ever terrorist she found. Pho had made sure she stayed out of the papers for her heroic deed, something that she didn't mind in the least.

Finally, Lundigrad had been easier than the other two combined. She had laced his dinner with a high dose of diabetic insulin, a dose so large his body couldn't break it all down, causing his heart to go into overdrive to try and rush the digestion process. It ended up with the man having a heart attack as he stood next to his pool and fell in. He drowned moments later.

That was how the agency had taught her to work. Be invisible. Leave no trace that she was ever there. Make the target die of causes untraceable to her. Videl had been the best at that.

And now that she saw what these men had down in their respective careers, she couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. Just as Bulma had said, she had been used, pointed in the direction that best served Pho and not the people she had sworn to defend. It was almost too much to bear.

Yet, Videl hadn't imagined she would have gotten this opportunity to investigate her assignments. After Gohan had rebuffed her, she had spent the next few hours contemplating what her next move would have been now that her only chance at getting out of that cell and getting revenge on Pho was gone. She hadn't made any progress when Bulma had suddenly entered the room with a collar in her dainty hand.

"Alright Miss, you and I have a long day ahead of us," she had declared, tossing the collar to her.

Videl caught the collar in her lap, her hands jerking up to keep it from bouncing around. Blinking at it, she looked up to Bulma and asked "What's this for?"

"You said you would do anything we said to do to get out of this room, right? Here's the first stipulation for early release. Take it or leave it."

It only took a moment for Videl to realize that this wasn't some sick joke and immediately snapped the collar on. "So what does this thing do?" she inquired as she fingered it, taking note of its tightness.

That was when Bulma pulled out a small remote and held it in front of her, pointing it right at the dark-haired girl. "This," she answered simple before pressing a button on it.

Immediately, pain flooded every inch of her body. She couldn't even scream or breath from how excruciating it was. She barely took notice of her body cringing and writing as she twisted from her seated position to a crumpled heap on the floor. She wasn't sure how long it lasted, but eventually the pain disappeared, leaving her to pant in relief. Her heavy breathing filled the room, making her sound like a sweating dog. In a way, perhaps she was.

"That was just the lowest setting," Bulma's voice said as it punctured her pain-filled haze. "You make any move I consider suspicious and I'll give you another jolt that'll make that look like heaven. Make a move to cause me harm and I'll send a jolt that'll give you cardiac arrest. Understood?"

At the remembrance of that thought, Videl rubbed her neck, the collar still firmly wrapped around it. It was just like those collars you put on a dog to keep him from running away. And after that first demonstration, Videl made sure she didn't get another taste of that experience.

With collar on, the two women had left her cell, the sight of plain hallways being a relieving sight for her. After just seeing her cell walls for over a month, something as mundane as hallways was like a child seeing Satan World for the first time. Bulma had then led her to a room where she could bath and dress in actual clothes. Two hours later saw Videl using the last drops of hot water Capsule Corp could produce.

Oh yes, it felt fucking great to be clean and feel like an actual human being again.

And once she was dressed in clothes, Bulma told her they were going to research into her assassinations, the very thing she had wanted Gohan to help her with. Videl wasn't letting that opportunity to pass her by.

However, when she had thought it would be just the two of them on this, she found there was an unwelcomed party crasher. The man with flame-like hair that had tortured her was accompanying them, his dark eyes boring into her no matter what move she made. Upon seeing him, Videl couldn't help but see a flash of everything he had put her through He had starved and taunted her with food, terrified her with that strange ball of heat and light that he and Gohan could do. There had been a contraption that had hung her upside down for what felt like days on end with the man spinning her around at odd intervals. Then there had been his elaborate water treatments. Those alone had been numerous and terrible. Sometimes she could smell that horrible stench he had flooded her room with for who knows how long. A shiver had run up and down her spine when she first saw him and she had done everything she could to not look at him. However, it was impossible to completely ignore him and that set her at edge. His presence only made it clear to Videl that she was on a very short leash.

And no, she did not intend for a pun.

As it turned out though, her investigation didn't take as long as she had thought. Making contact with a few of her various assets, she had found out what she had been told by Bulma was true. There was a body count of people who served no purpose for elimination other than they threatened Impho Pho.

It was nearly impossible for her to suppress her rage when she realized this. Her torturer's presence was pretty much the only thing that kept her from lashing out since she had the impression he was just waiting for her to act out, give him a reason to send her into a hell beyond the one she was already in. Videl did not want to give him that excuse.

But one thing was clear: she couldn't let Pho get away with this. He had used her, played her like a fiddle, and left her to burn if she were ever captured. No, Pho would meet his reckoning and she was going to make sure that he did. Unlike these Saiyans he had sent her after, he was much simpler to kill. One well-placed bullet and it would all be over.

She just had to convince her capturers to give her that chance.

* * *

><p>Agent Khakhi sat at her computer, deeply analysing the information she gained about the one and only Delivery Boy. Four days of work and analysing thousands, if not millions of records, in hope of finding the information necessary of this man. Everything to begin with seemed useless; it was as though any records of Son Goku were wiped clean and it was as if his son never existed.<p>

It was when the blonde-haired agent looked deeper into the system that she was able to find a marriage record, which was shortly followed by a birth certificate of the one called Son Gohan. At the time, a large smirk appeared across her mature face until she realised that this was the only lead on the boy she could find before it redirected her to the Capsule Corp home security page.

From there on, it wasn't easy yet she managed to hack on to their database where she was then overloaded with surveillance videos, documents, and university degrees and where Son Gohan lived and worked. Where he worked was a particular interest, one which her boss would have definite interests due to the nature of the Delivery Boy's attacks.

Agent Khakhi knew that this man would be particularly impossible to annihilate—his heritage was half-alien and it wasn't any of the harmless aliens that people would expect. It was the same aliens that destroyed East City all those years ago. The middle aged agent then discovered that at that attack there was a small child who in the Capsule Corp archives, one that was labelled Son Gohan, her target.

Yet the agent didn't understand why he was being hunted down—according to the records on him, he had played important roles in defending the Earth since a young age. Without pondering too much more on the information about the Delivery Boy, she picked up her mobile phone and hit speed dial number one. Then she waited for what felt like a few minutes until she heard the familiar voice of Impho Pho on the other end.

"I have the information. I wish to come into the head office to present the information and surveillance I have. I shall be at the head office in less than an hour Sir."

Khakhi slammed down her phone on the desk as she picked up the small black bag beside her. A small blood-thirsty smirk reached across her face. It was her ultimate goal to kill someone just like Son Gohan and finally she was going to be given that chance.

She could hardly wait.

* * *

><p>Videl continued to watch the blue-haired woman as she fiddled with a small gadget in her hands. She noted how Vegeta still watched over her in case she decided to turn, but really Videl knew that Bulma would use the collar against her before the ruthless man got a chance. Still, she hated him almost as much as she hated Pho, and his overbearing presence did nothing but continually send chills of all kinds down her spine.<p>

Taking her eyes away from his hateful face, she eagerly eyed the packet of cigarettes on Bulma's desk, as the pack Gohan had brought her had long since gone to her lungs. Her mouth began to water at the thought of those sticks of heaven. It was when Bulma turned to look at her that she removed her eye contact; she had to try to not look so fidgety and desperate... it might not allow her capturers to trust her.

"Help yourself." Bulma smiled as she picked up the packet and passed them along to Videl. "Go on, I haven't poisoned them or anything."

Without being told twice, she reached out and gently took the packet out of Bulma's hands. She began to pull one of the cigarettes out until she heard the sound of someone's footprints. She turned her head around and saw Gohan standing in the doorway.

"You wanted to see me Bulma?" he asked as he stepped forward. His eyes paused when they spotted her, as if her presence in here was highly unexpected. "I see," he words seemed to sum up the situation.

Videl realized she was holding her breath, not knowing how he was going to take the current situation. After all, it was his life she'd tried to snuff out. He'd made it clear that her place was in that hateful grey walled room – not enjoying the peculiar freedom that Bulma had afforded her.

Instead of protesting or bursting out in anger at Bulma for going against her wishes, he sighed and offered her a half-hearted smile. "It's nice to see that Bulma is at least taking some precautions," he spoke with his eyes fixed on her collar.

"Yeah, I get the collar, while the Guard Dog sits without," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Vegeta was suddenly in her face, startling her. How did he do that? Move so fast, let alone hear her from all the way over there. Her heart made several jolts, her skin crawling in anticipation of all kinds of awful things to come her way, but...with a firm hand on the shorter man's chest, she looked up to find that Gohan had also moved lightning fast, and was now standing between her and her ex-tormentor.

"Let's not get excited, please Vegeta." she heard Gohan say coolly, though his eyes held a certain edge that said 'I dare you', at least to her anyway. She didnt relax one bit though, for Vegeta didnt move, his eyes merely shifted cthe focus of that threatening stare from her to Gohan.

"Enough!" Bulma's screech proved to be the voice of reason, for Videl saw both aliens relax thier shoulders and retreat. Only then was she able to relax as well, well...sort of. With shaky fingers she grabbed the light on the table and finally lit her cigarette.

"So, how goes the investigation?" Gohan enquired.

"Oh that?" Bulma responded, "over and done with. Videl finally knows what kind of man Pho really is. Hey Videl?"

Videl felt his eyes on her then, watching, scrutinizing...looking for what exactly, she didn't know. Still she'd made a promise to herself and in a wayward sort of way to him as well. "I've finally been able to confirm everything to my satisfaction." she told him truthfully. "It probably doesn't mean much after what I've done, but I'm sorry." she got it out. "I'm sorry for all the attempts on your life." she quickly looked away.

There, she'd done it. She'd apologized. She didnt expect forgiveness or understanding but at least-

"Apology accepted," said Gohan, shocking her.

She looked up then, her turn to watch, scrutinize...but everything about his face said that yes, her apology was accepted – no sarcasm, no strings.

"So what now Bulma, do you have all your contacts lined up to take care of this?" Gohan moved on, further shocking her by how quickly and easily he'd accepted first: finding her released from her cell, then her apology and finally how flippantly he seemed to have moved on from those issues all together. "How are they going to handle this case?"

"Actually," said Bulma. "Videl has offered an alternative solution. That's why I called you. She needs your help with this one." she added with a sly smile.

Videl fidgeted with her fingers as she felt Gohan's eyes turning in her direction, watching...seemingly waiting to hear what it is she had to say. Oh how she hated this! How did her life come to boil down to having to constantly seek the help of her previous target? But as things were now, as she was now, she had no choice. This plan was the only sure way to take out Pho without involving anyone else – without risking the lives of those trying to do thier jobs.

She summoned her courage and began to speak. "I'd like," the words came out thick, as if afraid to be heard. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I'd like...for you to help me infiltrate the Agency Base."

Gohan raised his brow.

"I know my way around, so it should be easy. " her voice gained a bit of confidence and excitement now, this is what she was good at, this is what she was trained to do. " If you fly me with your...erm..." she moved her hand up and down in his direction. "You know, your super-powers instead of using a jet or other conventional vehicle, they won't be able to detect us on the radar. You'll probably register as nothing but a bird, if even at all. We can land right...here, on top of this roof." She pointed her finger at a point on the piece of paper on the table in-front of her.

Gohan walked over and peered at the hand-drawn outline of the Agency in xx and nodded for her to continue.

"Below is Pho's office." she went to say. "Using one of those explosive light things of yours, I'd like you to create a few divergens by aiming at these points circled over here," she tapped her finger.

Gohan squinted his eyes, roaming over the circled points. He seemed to frown.

"Uh...is that gonna be a problem? I just assumed that you'd be able to aim from here," she scrunched up her face and stared back at her drawing. "Alright, if you can't aim from here then- "

"No, that's not it. It'll be easy enough to hit the targeted areas from here, my concern if more...what exactly is in these areas?"

"Oh, that's a storage facility for weapons, that's the server room, this here has an emergency bunker underneath, and this," she pointed at the last one, "is the old training ground. An explosion in these areas will draw out security and any agents on duty to leave thier posts and investigate. It will by some time."

"Go oh," Gohan prompted.

"In the chaos, it'll be easy to blow a hole straight beneath us on the roof. You're fast so you'll be able to do that disappearing and appearing thing right here without anyone seeing you" again she pointed on the diagram.

Gohan's eyes followed her movement, again he nodded for her to for to continue..

"There's a monitor that covers this office, if you press this button here, the xx room will get a live feed of my entrance. I'll jump in and I'll have Pho just where I want him – alone, isolated and at my mercy. I'll put one in his knees and confront him with his crimes."

Gohan pulled his head back, regarding her with something akin to disapproval.

"He'll probably deny them, or say something cold and flippant knowing him, but that's fine, as long as our confrontation is being recorded in the xx room. I'll get my hands on an xx explosive and blow the both of us up, for our crimes. Game over."

"What?" the outrage on Gohan's face could be painted by even an ameteru.

"Well, I'm counting on that super-speed of yours to snatch me up before the whole place goes boom. If they think I'm dead, they won't come looking for me."

"Absolutely not!" Gohan exploded.

"Wai...wai...wait!" Videl flayed her arms. "That's just phase 1," she added quickly, misinterpreting his outrage. "Once Pho's neutralized, Bulma'll hand over the evidence to one of her contacts. They'll do an investigation and find him out, but at least then, there'll be no threat to the investigating people's lives. The agency will probably be shut down, and then we can all rest assured that the likes of Pho won't get the means to abuse thier power."

"You misunderstand Videl," Gohan towered over her. "I don't care if there's a Phase 2 or 10, I will not go along with a plan designed to assassinate anyone!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Videl snapped. "We're talking about Impho Pho here. Did you read the same file that I did? That man is a monster, he does not deserve your consideration."

"I like that plan girl," Vegeta volunteered. "Except for the part where he saves you from the explosion that is," he smirked.

"Vegeta!" Bulma scolded, then moved to stand between Videl and Gohan, who were currently glowering at each other. "That's enough you two." she steered Videl away. "Listen hon, there was never a chance in hell that Gohan was gonna go ahead with this plan."

"Then why did you invite him here? Why did you let me waste my time explaining it to him?"

"Calm down. Just calm down." Urged Bulma.

Videl clenched her fist, the last thing she was, was calm. "You don't understand, any of you." Her nails punctured her skin, drawing choppy droplets of blood. "Pho has to be brought down!" She fought the whirl of angry emotion threatening to make her eyes leak.

"Just...take it easy Videl alright? I actually have a plan of my own, and it involves our new ally."

"What do you have in mind?" Gohan focused on Bulma, he averted his eyes from straying to Videl's direction at every cost.

In the corner of the room, Vegeta grunted, a frown upon his angry face.

"We need Hercule Satan." said Bulma.

At the sound of hearing her father's name, a shiver ran down Videl's spine. Her relationship with her father was...complicated. Since her 'death' all they ever had was a few minutes over a phone. The tears she'd been keeping at bay finally welled up as she opened her mouth and with a dry choke she went to say: "What can my father do that we can't?"

Gohan chuckled, "The power of persuasion for one. He has the whole world eating at the palm of his hands, everyone believing that he beat Cell."

Videl pondered on what he'd just said for only a few minutes before she spoke up, slightly outraged. "My father did defeat Cell," she growled.

"Oh right, of course he did." he said dryly.

"Gohan's right." said Bulma. "The power of persuation is what we need right now. Your father is the one person that President Furry will see at a drop of a hat, not to mention listen to. If we go with him, the evidence will reach the to the top man in the country before Pho can even blink, let alone make a move. By the time he figures out what's happened his ass will be behind bars."

Videl turned around, rubbing her arms up and down.

"We should get going before it gets too late." said Bulma. "I'm hoping you remember where you live because none of us know Satan City well."

Videl sighed as she stood up. "Fine, let's go and see my father."

* * *

><p><em><strong>If you enjoyed this, please leave us a review!<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_**Brought to you by Gue22 and ShadowMajin**_

...

He felt like an intruder, watching them as he was. The champ had his large hairy arms wrapped around her, his chest heaving, his eyes leaking, completely overcome by emotion. He watched Videl's reaction and for some unknown reason he felt disappointed. Sure, she also had her own skinny arms around the large man, yet...there was no desperation in them, no feeling. It's not that he found her aloof or unmoved; it was more a case of...holding back.

"Sweet-Pea!" the large man continued to sob. "I just can't believe you're finally home!"

"Dad," she said as she pulled out of the hug. "Don't get too excited, alright? I'm not really back or anything, I'm on assignment; that's all."

Gohan felt a pang at the man's pitiful reaction.

"B-Bu...b-bu...Videl," he sputtered as his face fell.

"That's how it is Daddy, so please, no more crying."

The champ looked absolutely stricken as he finally turned bleary eyes at him and Bulma. He could only be grateful that Vegeta had decided not to come; he would have scoffed at the man's pain. He would have ridiculed him and most probably called him on all his carelessly woven lies.

"You're Bulma Briefs," said the champ with something akin to respect.

"That's me!" said Bulma with a cheeriness that felt out of place.

"And you..." said the champ, squinting his eyes. "I'm not sure, but I've seen your face somewhere," he added, his face scrunched up in thought.

"Perhaps," was all Gohan was willing to offer.

"Are you from the agency too?" he accused bitterly. "Are you one of the ones keeping my baby girl from coming home?" His voice was raw and think with emotion. "Are you the one that brainwashed her with all that secret agency crap?" He took an angry step in his direction. "Well are you?" He was practically yelling now, his face the picture of rage.

"Dad...don't..." Videl placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't start anything...please."

"I'm not. I'm not from that agency," said Gohan, feeling more than just a little put out by the accusation. "I'm trying to help her get out. That's why we're here. We need your help to bring that corrupt agency down."

"Are you saying that my baby girl is corrupt? Now listen here you punk, I don't know who the hell you are, but my Videl-"

"Dad, please." Videl gave him a pleading look. "Gohan is.." A panicked look appeared on her face. "Um...well...he's," she came up short for explanation. "He's an ally and he's right," she finally settled on that description. "The agency _is_ corrupt – I should have listened to you back then,." Her eyes darted around haphazardly as she rubbed her arms uncomfortably. She cleared her throat then. "Can we go to the parlour or somewhere to talk?"

"Right, of course, of course, let's go to the parlour." The champ ran his large hands down his face like a man trying to hold onto his sanity.

Gohan nodded to Bulma and together they followed the father-daughter duo in silence. The champ had his arm draped around Videl and to his eyes the ex-agent looked rather stiff in his hold. He supposed it was a difficult situation for her, finally being home and seeing her father after a long time, only she wasn't returning at all; she was just a prisoner making a pit-stop – a fact she couldn't even disclose.

"...eating properly, I know it's fashionable to be skin and bone for young ladies, but Sweet-pea, look at you! You don't look well at all and that hair! What happened Videl? Did you have some kind of accident with a pair of shears? Are you sure everything's fine?"

"Daddy please, not now okay?" she pleaded, a slight rawness in her tone.

Gohan thought he understood her a little better now; she was doing her best to hold it together for her father's sake. She was still trying to play the aloof and removed Agent Tan, not the long lost daughter. After all, it was like she said – she wasn't home, not really. Giving in to her emotions now would do neither of them any good.

They turned a concave corner and walked into a cosy room. It was tastefully decorated with the main attraction as a large antique desk filling the entire window directly opposite the door. The champ sat at the corner of the table with one leg dangling on the ground. "Uh...yeah..." he said gruffly, "make yourselves comfortable." He gestured at the numerous places to sit.

Videl picked a round ottoman facing a piano on the opposite wall, while Gohan followed Bulma to a two-seater across from the large desk.

It was a thick uncomfortable silence that fell between them, giving Gohan time to feel a few more bouts of guilt. 'Ally' she'd said, and he couldn't deny that indeed that is what they had become. They were both here to put an end to Pho and the agency - together were they not? She was more determined than any of them to see this task through to the very end. So why then...did he still feel the need to treat her as...well...some kind of hostile?

His eyes swept over her strained face and he couldn't help but notice the difference between the woman from Yamcha's apartment and this one. Lips that had been lush and rosy looked thin and chapped. Eyes that had been sultry and daring seemed withdrawn and empty. But what did he expect?

"I guess it's up to me to explain then," said Bulma, breaking the silence.

...

It was an hour later when they all shook hands with a short, stubby balding man who was introduced as Hercule's 'Political Advisor'. The champ had gotten in-touch with him in order to organize an urgent meeting with President Furry. After numerous calls and emails, he was finally able to confirm that the President would be able to see them the next day during his lunch break. Seemingly he had meetings back to back this week, but for the world saviour it went without saying that he'd managed to make the time.

"Well then, we should get going as well," said Bulma. "I guess we'll meet around noon tomorrow at the Central Capitol?"

"Uh...it's a pretty long flight," said the champ. "I can line up the Satan Jet for us to leave as soon as possible. We'll stay at one of my hotels in Central City for the night and then meet old man Furry for lunch there tomorrow."

"Sorry, no can't do," said Bulma. "I still have things to do back home so we'll just meet you there tomorrow Mr. Satan. Send us the address of the hotel okay?" she added, purse already in hand as she turned towards him and then Videl. "Well,

Gohan, Videl...shall we get going?"

Gohan slipped his hands in his pockets. He'd have to be blind to have missed the panicked, if not stricken, look on both father and daughter at the thought of being torn apart so suddenly after only just being reunited.

More guilt piled on the ever rising heap in his soul. In how many shades of cruelty would Videl Satan suffer at his hands? He kept trying to remember why he was still treating her as a prisoner, but right now, in this lush parlour, looking at her fragile and tiny form as she stood next to her father – he honestly couldn't come up with one good reason.

Okay, sure, she'd tried to kill him, but who hadn't? Once upon a time, Vegeta had tried to blow up the entire planet, not just him. But his father had given the Saiyan Prince an opportunity to redeem himself and he had. The same could be said for all of his father's friends actually. Now that he was being honest with himself, it was true for all of them; from Yamcha to even Piccolo – they'd all had it in for Son Goku at one point or another.

He sighed, thorns of guilt puncturing his insides in all kinds of unpleasant ways. Things had to change and it was up to him to initiate it. "That's okay Bulma, I don't want to have to rush tomorrow. I'll stay here and take Mr. Satan's offer to use his Jet."

A flicker of a thousand emotions played across Videl's face as she stiffened in disbelief while a confused expression appeared on the heiress's face.

"Besides," continued Gohan. "I'm sure Videl would rather stay here and catch up with her father than go back to Base."

She didn't look at him, in fact, she didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular, but he could sense the waves of emotions fluctuating in her Ki. He realized that he'd give anything to know what she was thinking and what she was feeling. Was he wrong in giving her a chance to spend some time with her father? Surely if he was, she would have said something.

Bulma stared at him, opened her mouth to say something, swallowed the first thought; then tried again. "Actually, if you're staying, do you really need me for this meeting tomorrow? I actually have a lot on my plate and you have all the information."

"Um," Gohan scratched his head. "Well, if you're really busy then I'm sure the three of us will be fine on our own."

"Good," she beamed. "Good." She gave his arm a squeeze. "I guess you'll be wanting to hold onto this then." She then dug into her purse and handed him the control for Videl's 'necklace'.

Videl stiffened when she saw the device, averting her eyes.

"Nuh," Gohan declined, taking two steps towards the ex-agent. "Videl, you're not still getting those cranks in your neck are you?" he eyed her meaningfully. "I think Bulma's experimental massage brace has worked wonders." He gripped the device and crushed the lock with his fingers. "Let's take it off and see how you manage without it."

"Err...n-neck massage?" Hercule stammered worriedly. "Did you get hurt Sweet-pea? If you need to see a specialist I have-"

"It's fine Daddy," she said as Gohan slipped the collar off. "It was just a crank. Thanks Bulma, I'm all better now." She gave the heiress a half-hearted smile.

"Well then," said Bulma. "Looks like I'm not needed anymore." She took the device from Gohan and slipped it into her purse. "It was nice to meet you Mr. Satan. Take care of her." She placed a hand on Videl.

"Err...yeah, likewise...err...I'll show you out." The champ walked with her.

Left alone in the parlour with Videl, Gohan watched somewhat as she rubbed her arms up and down. "Thank-you," she said quietly. "It will mean a lot to him, to spend a little time together."

He slipped his hands in his pockets, feeling all kinds of uncomfortable. "I'm glad."

...

Impho Pho was tapping his foot on the floor. A glance to his watch made his impatient tapping increase. Time was wasting and there was still so much left to do. Where was his agent? She should have been here by now. She had had several days to do her research so any more time was unnecessary. A growl left his lips. Agent Tan had never made him wait.

A knock on his door caught his attention and he barked out "Get in here." Immediately his late agent entered the room, closing the door behind her. She was a small girl, lithe, and fit much like Tan. Unlike Tan though, she was taller and skinnier than her and wasn't as agile. But she was the best he had at the moment. That still didn't restrain the scowl that appeared on Pho's face, clearly indicating his displeasure. "You're late."

"My apologies," said agent Khakhi. "I have the Intel on the target."

"As you should. What did you find out?"

"His name is Son Gohan, the son of Son Goku and Son Chichi, head of the 439 Mining Inc."

"439?" Imp interrupted. The head of that company was the Delivery Boy? This was starting to make sense now—why the Delivery Boy was targeting the specific companies that he was. He knew who was weaponizing the uranium and where they were holding it because he was the one selling it to them. Of course, it did raise the question of why he would destroy his own products after selling them, but that question was of little value at the moment.

"Yes Sir," Khakhi confirmed. "It was how he knew of those uranium enrichment facilities and warehouses."

"Continue."

"He's lived his entire life in his father's house in the middle of nowhere. His mother is the daughter of the Ox King, the ruler of Frypan Mountain. Incidentally, the nuclear power plant on that mountain is fully run off of the ore he mines for 439."

"Any other family? Connections?"

"He has a younger brother in high school, Son Goten, and he seems to possess the same powers as his brother. There was an incident at his school a month ago where he punched another student through a wall. The victim came out of the scuffle relatively unharmed though."

Pho's eyes narrowed. A boy surviving a super-powered punch without so much as a scratch? No way was that accidental. "Who was the victim?"

"A Trunks Briefs, the son of Capsule Corp's Bulma Briefs. I also found evidence indicating a link between Briefs and Son Goku. It seemed they were on friendly terms."

So it wasn't a coincidence that Trunks Briefs was attacked by Son Goten with full force. That boy knew the other could take the hit, otherwise he never would've unrestrained his strength. There must have been a stronger connection between this podunk family and the world's wealthiest family.

"That's enough," Pho said. Pointing to his desk, he then added "Place your report here. I'll look at the finer details later."

Agent Khakhi did not argue as she placed the report on his desk. "What is my next assignment, Sir?" she asked.

"You may resume your search for Agent Tan. It would be nice to have a body to lay the matter of her fate to rest."

Without even indicating that she had heard his order, she turned around and left Pho's office. That was fine with him considering he had some things to go over. Keeping Khakhi distracted with the missing agent may lead to some other information about the Delivery Boy.

Though her oral report was summarized, it still gave him something to work with. Family was an opening he could use against this menace, not to mention his company. And with his re-emergence from death, keeping his neutralization to a minimum was not a viable option anymore. Any method that could take him down regardless of collateral damage was on the table—the Delivery Boy had himself to thank for that. If a deadly virus couldn't take him down, then there were other, more devastating alternatives that had to be used.

And Pho was not above using whatever it took to take him down.

...

Mr. Satan had been courteous enough to let him use his parlour to get some work done while he waited.

The jet was being prepared for the impromptu trip to Central and Videl had made a few calls which resulted in the appearance of a rather loud, skinny dog-man in skin-tight red-leather. He'd stormed into the mansion, tail swishing behind him and assaulted everyone in sight with two sloppy kisses on the cheek. Gohan had no qualms with the dog, wolf, pig, or cat-kind, hell some of his father's friends belonged to those species, but he did draw a line to being run down with saliva by another man.

Introducing himself as Sisi: Exclusive Stylist of Satan Pictures—seemingly the champ had an entire movie studio specializing in blockbusters about his heroics, all of them earning the number one spot in the charts. The dog-man had inspected every inch of Videl with shock and horrified disbelief. "Oh honey, you're truly back from the dead – you look just like an empty corpse." he had said with dismay.

He'd then proceeded to embrace the shorter girl with his slender paws, suffocating her with a weepy hug. Two assistants had trailed shyly behind the vivacious Sisi, carrying mountains of what Gohan could only assume to be clothes and beauty products.

Videl had then disappeared with the trio, saying she was going to get "ready" for the trip. Glancing at the corner of his screen, Gohan checked the time - that had been two hours ago.

He squinted back to the mining exploration tax schedule—the new prospecting site was going to cost them a fortune in taxes alone. The small independent kingdoms like Mt. Kettle and Mt. Skillet—those not falling under the jurisdiction of the World Government—had a tendency to rip off foreign investors interested in their natural resources. They were determined to inject funds into their struggling economies in any way they could. He frowned at the numbers and began composing a list of instructions for his operations manager when the shrill sound of his phone decided to interrupt him.

The vibration made it hum and buzz around the table top noisily. Picking it up, Gohan sighed—this was one call he couldn't ignore. That ringtone belonged to none other than his mother.

"Hi Mom," he did his best to sound cheerful, "Didn't I?" he frowned. "Sorry about that, something came up after work. I'm on my computer now; I'll just make a transfer right away." He placed his phone on the table and put it on speaker and then he pulled up a new window on his screen.

"...imagine! They had the audacity to threaten to cancel the entire order!" came the angry voice of Son Chichi.

Gohan cringed. "Sorry Mom, that's my fault. I should have made the payment a week ago. How much should I pay?" he asked.

"Just pay all of it Gohan, there is only one week left. They'll be taking care of almost everything from catering, decorations, sound, lights, open bar and the total is a million Zeni. Your grandfather's useless administrators will reimburse it when they get their act together."

Gohan paled. "A million Zeni just for a party? Jeez Mom! How many people are coming to Grandpa's birthday?" he whined as he typed in the amount on the transfer screen.

"A lot – obviously. Most of the villagers are definitely coming, all of Papa's administration and their families. All the ambassadors have confirmed and Papa's invited all the staff members of each respective embassy too. They'll be some snooty foreign investors coming to sniff around as usual and oh let's see...I know the Eagle King is coming from Mt. Skillet, the Prince of Mt. Kettle, the President of WaterKress Republic and several other leaders from the independent states and kingdoms. Oh, five ministers from the World Government are coming and—"

"It's okay Mom, I get it—a lot of people," he grumbled. "Okay, I've made the payment. I'll email my secretary and she'll fax them POF so they'll be no more problems."

"That's great Sweetie; that's one less thing to worry about. Now...it's almost time for dinner; are you going to be home soon?"

"Uh...actually, that's another thing I forgot to mention. I'm in Satan City for business, I should be back home by Sunday, but I'll let you know."

"Hmph! Just like your father, always taking off and not telling anyone where you'll be."

"Aww Mom, I was going to call—"

"It would have been nice to know before I made a mountain of food since your brother is also not coming. Hmph! Just don't forget you have a Lil' Bandits game this Sunday," was all she said before the line cut.

Gohan pouted; his mom was impossible. No matter how old he got, she still treated him like a child. He sighed, looking up from his screen. He was just reaching for his glass of water when his hand froze above it. His eyes expanded as he did a double take.

Oh, wow, he stared at the figure standing in the doorframe.

It was like going back in time —as if he was in Yamcha's apartment all over again.

He didn't know much about women's hairstyles, but he definitely remembered this—that long fringe that almost covered her eyes, that stylish pin holding up her hair in a thick overflowing bouquet at the top, and those stray locks falling to the side like a haphazard head of chives.

She strolled into the parlour dragging a small wheeled carry-on with heels so high they surpassed Bulma's. And like a skinny girl on the catwalk, her eyes looked dark and smoky from the shape of the liner. That ruthless confidence was back in her step, adding flavour to the mesmerizing way her hips seemed to sway in those black pants.

"Ready?" she tilted her face so her eyes could meet his face.

"Uh, just about," said Gohan with a thick voice. He grabbed the glass he'd been reaching for and wet his drying lips.

"Alright," she let go of her grip on her bag. "Pilot's ready, daddy too. They're just waiting on us."

Gohan continued to follow her movements with his eyes. He'd spent the better part of the last two months watching her in her cell from the live feed on his computer, so he was pretty sure that he was familiar with most of her...erm...assets. So he was pretty convinced that she had something under that blouse—something making her breasts seem much larger as they pushed against the delicate fabric containing them.

Her first stop was the liquor cabinet, he wasn't knowledgeable on such matters but the bottle she pulled out looked like the strong stuff.

"Drink?" she offered, almost as an afterthought, but Gohan shook his head.

She poured a generous amount for herself, topping it off with some ice and then down her throat it went. She gave herself a quick refill before she walked away from the cabinet with the sound of the ice clinking with each sway of her hips – at least, that's how it seemed to him.

With her back straight, chest forward, legs crossed, she settled down on a padded ottoman by the side of a large piano.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring, so I'm asking, what?"

Gohan flushed. "Um...sorry, no reason."

She tilted her head, the tips of her bangs brushing lightly along her eyes and stared him down. "Say it."

"Just...your hair...it's...uh," he stammered lamely.

"I see." She ran a now manicured hand through the dark hair. "They're called

Virgin-Remy Hair-Extensions. These particular ones are sheared from the heads of the Moruti priests of Kami worshippers in a rather absurd ceremonial offering. Sisi pretty much has them on speed-dial. In his line of work, long glamorous hair for all his clients is a must. That's why I borrowed him."

"I wasn't-"

"Your good friend Vegeta left me no choice with his patch work, so this will do until my own hair grows back. Satisfied?"

"It looks nice, you look—"

"Spare me," she threw her head back. "You've done enough for me today: you bought my father and I some time together _and _removed my dog collar—I'm grateful for both. But please don't feel forced to throw in some half-hearted compliments to make me feel better. I know I'm not much to look at. I made my peace with that a long time ago."

Though Gohan begged to differ, he made no move to disagree with her. Kami knew he'd wrestled with himself to not 'look' at her in that way several times in the past. It had made him feel creepy and dirty considering the circumstances—she a dangerous captive, and he...well...a peeping captor. He cringed at the very thought, feeling all kinds of dirty all over again. Especially remembering how he'd nearly had a hard-on the night he'd strangled her in Yamcha's apartment.

It was shameful how his Super Saiyan blood had been pulsing with that extra something he never felt when he wasn't transformed. The need and desire to not just kill, but to hurt, to see his enemy squirm and plead. That extra something had been beating furiously in him as his senses took in her scent. His eyes had drifted to the lushness of her lips. He remembered feeling it—that animalistic rush as he saw her delicate features contort in pain. He's wanted to hurt her further, he'd wanted to see her lips parting in not just a strangled whimper but an anguished cry, maybe a trickle of blood as well for visual effect.

Yamcha had been trying to get him to stop, to calm down, but just like with his fight with Cell—his words had fallen on deaf ears. He'd been close to killing her then even as his stomach and his groin tightened as she let out another strangled sound – a moan.

"You're still staring," she frowned.

Gohan shifted uncomfortably, startled by his wayward thoughts. He needed some air—quickly. "I'm ready," he shut his screen abruptly and began to pack up.

...

The lunch meeting with President Furry went better than he'd expected. Gohan had never met the short dog-man before, but he knew that his father had back when he was a kid. He'd been impressed by his indiscriminate etiquette, his calm manner, and his patience. The World President had listened to their story calmly with just a twitch of his long white moustache as an indication that he was affected by all the excessively unpleasant parts. Following their explanation, he'd proceeded to read through the compilation of documents diligently.

Gohan had also been grateful for his discretion. The dog-man had spared Videl any difficult questions that someone else might have asked, given her direct role in the assassination of innocent people. Perhaps he'd been moved by the evident remorse and self-loathing plastered on Videl's face as she struggled to maintain a neutral facade through the explanation. Or perhaps, due to his line of work, he'd grown accustomed to such situations.

Once he'd gone over everything to his satisfaction, he'd then called one of his advisors and instructed them to start a discreet investigation to gather any and everything they could on the agency, Pho, his implicated affiliates in the World Government network as well as all his suspected clients. It was a big operation, especially given the necessary secrecy, but the President had assured them that it would be handled and resolved as quickly as possible.

Anxious and highly dissatisfied, Videl had demanded a time estimate, but the best the apologetic President could guess was two weeks.

To Gohan and Mr. Satan's embarrassment, Videl had cursed and stormed off in the company of a box of cigarettes, leaving her food untouched. The two of them had been able to wrap up the meeting with the President.

As a parting message, President Furry had urged them both to do everything in their power to keep Videl calm during the investigation, but most importantly hidden.

"_He'll come after her with everything he's got if he suspects that she's still alive and turned traitor,"_ he had warned. _"I'm sorry to say this Hercule, but your home has too much staff, too many eyes, too many possible leaks. Videl shouldn't stay with you until this matter is put to rest."_

Leaving the matter in the hands of the World Leader, they'd then flown back to Satan City that very afternoon.

...

"You rang?" purred a seductive voice.

Pho jumped, startled when something cold slithered up the inside of his leg.

"Inappropriate Agent Black," he gritted his teeth, attempting to shake off the unwanted invasion of personal space.

A sultry chuckle came from underneath the table and then the agent slithered up the leg of his table and coiled herself on his laptop. With her scaly head and pitch black eyes, Agent Black poised herself before him, an amused expression on her face.

"Human form please," Pho commanded the shape-shifter. Of all the forms she enjoyed taking, he'd never seen her as a serpent before. "How the hell did you even get in here?"

That amused chuckle again. "Why do you think I'm in this form?" she retracted her long neck and transformed into a petit and lithe dark-haired girl. There was a certain oily shine to her skin as she turned those thin and amused slanted eyes at him. "I slithered in through the vents just to rattle you."

"Enough games Agent Black," Pho snapped, waving her off his table, not in the least affected by her nakedness. He would endure it if he had to—nothing he hadn't seen before. "I have an assignment for you."

The dark-haired girl pouted, shifting her legs to the edge of the desk as she slid off, her feet touching the floor. "I hope it's interesting." She tip-toed around his desk and slipped into the visitor's chair.

"I think it might satiate that appetite of yours. Here," he passed her a folder. "That's your new identity."

Long glossy fingers paged through the folder slowly, a disgusted look growing on her face. "You want me to masquerade as this ugly whore?" she spat in distaste, staring at the picture in the file.

"That's right," Pho nodded. "Dr. P. Lefu, nuclear physicist."

"What's the endgame here _Sir_?" she quirked a brow.

"Just assume her identity, infiltrate the plant successfully and await further instructions."

"Does this have anything to do with the disappearance of your favourite Jawbreaker?" A smug smile spread across her face.

"Perhaps," Pho glanced at his watch. "So while you're slithering around in there, you'd do well to be careful. Just remember that this could very well be the agency's most dangerous mission yet. I've lost my Jawbreaker to this; a hair might go out of place if I lost my Chameleon too."

...

He'd agreed to stay the night at her father's mansion then drop her back at Capsule Corp. tomorrow—he'd arranged with Bulma to secure a normal guest room for her. She knew he could fly home at a blink of an eye and fly back tomorrow to pick her up and take her back. There was really no reason for him to sleep here except to keep tabs on her.

Still, she sighed as she placed the brush down, she wasn't really complaining. He was being diligent with this whole "giving her time with her father" thing. He'd not even joined them for dinner. He'd just ordered a large meal in the kitchen, which he ate only Kami knew where. So she'd dined alone with her father, fighting the desperate urge to just break down and beg him to rescue her from this predicament.

She hadn't of course, she wouldn't. This was her mess and she had no intentions of dragging him into a fight with these aliens. The truth was, despite his reputation, despite Cell...she hated to admit it, but deep down she had her doubts. She couldn't fathom why he'd lied about the so-called 'light tricks'. She'd seen those things in action and just thinking about the damage they were capable of...no she didn't want to go there; and this was not the time to raise those questions. She just...she just couldn't shake the feeling that put up against that Vegeta or Gohan—she sighed, grabbing her lipstick. Put up against those two aliens...she just couldn't see her father winning.

She glided the lipstick over her lips as she stared at her reflection. Well, she was still thinner than she preferred, but Sisi had done his best to give her face that old edge back. Not that she needed it now; she had no idea what she was going to do with her life once this issue was wrapped up. Agent Tan the Jawbreaker was as good as dead.

She checked herself over, nothing fancy. Tattered blue jeans with a black halter top that made her waist appear even slimmer than it was. Pumps for a bit of a lift and she was out of her room. She made it all the way to the front door, but thought twice about going out without "reporting" to Gohan first. She sighed, heading to the guest room.

He opened the door just as she was about to knock—a clear indication that he was indeed keeping tabs on her with his freaky alien powers. "I'm going for a walk around the city, just thought I'd let you know."

"Uh," he seemed thoughtful. "It's okay Videl. You don't have to check in with me. You're free to do whatever you like, just...be careful."

She wanted to slap him right there. Free? What the hell did he mean by that? Freedom was as far from her as her kind of revenge on Pho. If she were truly free, then—

"You were right about what you said to your father yesterday. We may have different values, and I can never bring myself to agree with your view of cold and calculated murder, but...on this Pho issue, we _are_ allies, and its time I started treating you as such."

"You contradict yourself by your very presence here you know. I may not be confined behind walls, but I think we both know that you're more impenetrable than any man-made prison could ever be."

"Perhaps," he agreed. "Look Videl," he said in a strained voice. "The truth is...what I've come to realize is...I shouldn't have taken you to Vegeta. I shouldn't have refused you when you asked for help, I..." he surprised her by pulling her in and closing the door behind her.

She was slightly startled by the way he was leaning over her as she stood with her back pressed against the wall. "I shouldn't have allowed Bulma to put that collar on you and I definitely should have made sure that you were not exposed to Vegeta after all he's done."

"You were being smart and careful," she let her thoughts slip out of her mouth.

"No, I just panicked, and I shouldn't have." He shook his head and pulled away from the door as he ran his hand through his hair. "Even a cold-blooded murder is still a person and should..." he faltered. "I was just...it really doesn't matter anymore. Look, I'll just hang around till we conclude this, just to-"

"Ensure that I don't run off and kill Pho in cold blood?"

"That and...if they come after you, you'll be safer if I'm around."

"So you're my bodyguard now?"

"No Videl, I'm your ally."

She stared at him then and could find nothing but insufferable sincerity in his eyes. Was he fucking kidding? He still largely thought of her as a cold-hearted killer, and yet, just like that, they're allies now? Wipe the slate clean, no "who tried to kill who" and "who tried to torture who?"

She shook her head, resisting the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the dynamics.

"Well," she threw her head back just a tad to get her hair out of her eyes, "I'll be on my walk. Goodnight Gohan."

"Goodnight Videl."

And then she slipped out.

...

She walked around aimlessly, a puff of smoke leading ahead as she took in the familiar streets of back then. She could picture herself cornering a criminal here, kneeing Sharpener there, and being embarrassed by Erasa's outlandish comments here and there.

A pang at the thought of that life. What were they doing now, she wondered. What paths did they take in life? Did they still think of her sometimes, when a quiet moment presented itself? A deep routed longing dug itself out of the dusty chambers of her heart and all she could do was pull extra hard and hold the smoke in extra long to try and numb it. She chastised herself for these thoughts; she didn't deserve to know a single thing about them, let alone for them to remember her. She'd made her choice back then, to play dead and watch from the screen as the city she'd loved, the friends she'd loved, all wept and mourned for Videl Satan.

In the last seven years, she'd only ever been in Satan City twice. Both times she'd moved in the shadows, both times she'd taken a life. Thankfully, those particular lives were not on the long list of the innocent.

"_Maybe two weeks,"_ the president had said. Just thinking about it sent her to boiling point in less than a second. Easy for him to say—after all, he wasn't the one dripping blood. She turned a random corner to find herself heading down a rather large and bright street. Walking a few steps down, she realized that the street led to a large open square of some kind. She didn't remember there being such a place seven years ago. Curious, she began to walk down, heading directly for what appeared to be the main attraction. She was only about half way there when she froze,the cigarette in her mouth dropping to the ground.

It was even bigger than the one they had of her father. It was monstrous and expertly sculpted – a statue of a young girl with two pigtails. She was wearing black and yellow boots, an oversized t-shirt and black cycling shorts. The girl was crouched in a fighting stance, a fierce expression etched on her face.

With heavy steps she began to walk closer and closer to it.

The statue was atop a rather large and high granite stand. It was impossible to make out whatever might have been engraved on it though, since every inch of the stand was covered from top to bottom with messages.

_RIP Videl, We miss you Videl._

At the bottom of the stand, the stairs were flooded with all kinds of gifts: flowers, chocolates, gloves—which she found peculiar—and lots more letters and photographs.

With trembling hands Videl kneeled down and began to randomly go over the letters and pictures. She had no idea who these people were, but the way they wrote about her, thanking her for saving so-and-so on such-and-such an occasion really made her angry. What is this, some kind of shrine?

Why? Why? Why in the name of Kami were they still mourning a person that died seven years ago! Why? Why were they trying to immortalize her? She didn't deserve this, she didn't! She didn't deserve the praise, the sorrow, the tears and certainly not the warm wishes. She only had to think of those innocent lives she'd snuffed out and nothing but rage erupted. Rage at the clearly disillusioned public, rage at Pho, but mostly rage at herself.

"Why? Why? Why?" she screamed, letting loose at the offerings. She kicked the chocolate boxes and ripped apart the elaborate bouquets and baskets of fresh flowers. "Why?" she stormed the stand, anger, grief, pain, shock...everything mounting up and pouring into her destructive hands.

One by one she began to rip the letters off. "She's dead! she's dead!" she screamed, the salty taste of her tears, the pasty texture of her lipstick, all smudging together on her tongue. "Why?" she crumpled up a picture of her and the old team of police officers. "Why didn't I listen Chief? Why did I listen to that manipulate recruiter when he came for me? It was all for nothing! Nothing! Nothing!"

"Hey, Lady...hands were we can see them," ordered a stern voice.

Videl turned around to find herself staring at two men in uniform, both their weapons were aimed expertly at her.

"Go away," she said, dipping her head, shielding her face with her hair.

"Your hands, I won't tell you again!" the officer repeated, this time raised his voice.

"And I won't tell you again. Go. Away," she forced the words out through gritted teeth, tilting her head to the side.

"Like hell!" said the uniformed man, visibly seething now. "You think you can just get drunk and then come out here and trash Ms Satan's monument?" He advanced towards her. "You're coming with us." With one hand on his weapon, he slipped the other to his pocket and pulled out his cuffs. "Perhaps a night behind bars will...Ow! Ow! Ow!" he yelped in pain as his arms twisted behind him, his cuffs clicking around his wrists.

His mouth gasped in shock, but a sharp pain at the back of neck made him crumple to the ground.

Shocked, the second cop fired his weapon in a panic, but missed. He quickly darted his eyes to his collapsed partner and then back at the spot where the target had been, preparing to take another shot when a shadow suddenly fell upon him. Startled, he found himself staring down at smoky predatory eyes. His breath hitched as he instinctively tried to take a step back, but it was already too late. The dark-haired woman had already swept her legs from under him.

His back hit the hard granite beneath him as a painful force on his wrist forced him to drop the gun. Gasping, he stared up at the woman straddling him, his heart beating in a furious panic. With her had dipped down towards him, only part of her face was visible, the hair covering up the rest. It was disconcerting to see black streak marks running down her face with red smudges staining the area around her mouth.

"I warned you," she said, furious eyes piercing down at him. "Don't you get it? Videl Satan is dead! Dead! Dead!" she yelled furiously. "I'm going to destroy this place and if you try to get in my way I'll-"

Though the officer could guess at what she was about to say, he didn't get to hear it for what seemed like a gust of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere and snatched her up from atop him like the talons of a hawk and disappeared in the skies.

...

It was distracting to fly with an unwilling party writhing, cursing and pounding on you midair, but Gohan finally caught the twinkle of the light he'd left on in the guest room and flew in through the window. As soon as he set her down she stopped struggling and turned her fury at him.

"Where the hell did you come from?" she swivelled around to face him. "You were following me the whole time! Spying on me!" she accused.

"No. I just-"

"Hypocrite!" she yelled, pushing at his chest with all her might. "All that talk about being 'allies', about not needing to check in with you. I knew it was bullshit!"

Gohan tried to back away from her fury but the back of his calves hit the edge of the large guest bed. He put up his hands in a peace offering instead. "Whoa! Videl calm down, I only-"

"I will not calm down!"

"Okay, don't be calm, but...kindly stop yelling; your dad might hear you, He might think you're under attack or something."

"Fine, I'm calm!" she yelled.

Gohan gave her a look and she clenched her jaw. She reached to her back pocket and pulled out her pack and lighter. "Feh," she muttered as she pulled the last one out. With practiced hands she lit it and placed it between her lips. Just like earlier on her walk she took long drags and inhaled them deeply into her lungs.

"Fine. I'm calm." she said quietly as the smoke blew out from her mouth and nose. "But just so we're clear: I'm sick of having your eyes on me all the time. You say I'm free, but you sneak around like a thief in the dark to follow me around." She took another drag and savoured the taste, and as she blew out: "All so you can have your eyes on me."

Gohan frowned. "No. I only-"

"You're always watching me," she cut him off, closing the distance between them. "Always staring at me; why?"

"I'm not!" he denied heatedly, then coughed as the smoke she blew out wafted to his face. "I-I...sensed some fluctuations in your Ki," he coughed some more and blew with his hand. "Then I felt it spike so I—" He tried to step back, but the bed caught him again and this time he just let himself flop down and sit.

"Oh really?" she stepped between his legs with her head dipped down to him. She was slightly taller in this angle. "Don't lie Gohan, you just like to keep your eyes on me," she said calmly. "Even long after I stopped being a threat, you still just _have_ to have your eyes on me—just admit it."

"That's not true, I only—"

She made an amused chuckle. "I said don't lie. Bulma took me through the surveillance equipment she'd set up for my rooms. I know about all the monitors, especially the live feed that was always transmitting to _your_ computers."

Gohan stiffened, his eyes wanting to look anywhere but at hers, but that face—all streaked with black lines and those smoky eyes—they were both practically daring him to look away so he didn't.

"So don't lie to me," she continued, "because we both know that even when I was held captive, you were always watching me."

"I wasn't, I mean I was, but it's not what you think," he said hurriedly.

"And just what is it exactly that you think I think?"

"N-Nothing," he flushed, and lowered his eyes at last. "I think I'll just get going to my room now," he tried to stand up.

Videl chuckled, refusing to step out of his way. "This _is _your room, remember?"

"Uh yeah, heh heh," he chuckled nervously and scratched his scalp.

"Don't worry, I'll get out of your way if-"

"If?"

"If you tell me the truth about why you followed me tonight."

"Because Videl," he sighed, lost guts finally returning as he looked at her face. "Because every time I leave you alone you tend to do something destructive."

Surprising him, she smiled—a genuine smile as she stepped out from between his legs. "True," she leaned over to the dressing table on the side to butt out the stub of her cig. "I can't argue with that. But at least, I got you to admit that you were following me, watching me as usual." That little smile was definitely triumphant. "I guess you still don't have all your answers hmm?" She began to walk away.

Surprising her, perhaps even himself, he grabbed her arm and swivelled her around to face him, the uncontrolled force nearly making her topple over on him—nearly. But Videl's sense of balance was better than that; even as she gasped she still managed to plant her heels on the ground.

"Answers? Answers to what?"

"All the questions you didn't get to ask while I was under the influence of that truth serum Bulma said you tried out on me. All the questions you were seeking while you were watching me that whole time in my cell. Let's be frank shall we? You must have been really desperate to get the answers if you could stomach watching me for hours on end in those conditions. If I wasn't twitching or writhing in pain, I was jerking and throwing up. I was a pile of stinking rags on dirt and grime, and yet...even after the truth serum, you were still watching me."

There was something about the way her tone dropped in that last sentence that made him feel even more uncomfortable than he already was. He was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was still holding her thin arm in his hand. Instinctively, he let her go.

"Weren't you?"

"I-"

"You already know about this." She pushed back her hair to reveal the burn marks on her forehead. "What else would you like to know? Hmm, let's see...you might as well know it all, since we're..._allies_ and all. Let's see...how about this?" She reached behind her neck and unfastened the straps of the halter top. Without any support, the delicate fabric dropped down her torso and crumpled around her waist.

Gohan blinked, his lips parting, but no sound came out. He had been semi-right he thought; the black bra was definitely pushing her breasts higher than their natural inclination. Of course, he immediately flushed at his line of thought.

She turned around then and his eyes widened, for more burns were visible at the base of her back. They were not as severe, but they were there, another testament to the hell she must have suffered that night.

Neither of them spoke, and for the life of him, Gohan would never know what it was that possessed him to reach out with his hand and trace the marks. The discoloured skin was rough and bumpy under his fingertips, but the finish itself felt almost glossy. "Videl, I-"

"There's more," she cut him off as she slowly turned around. Her hands reached for the buttons on her jeans, but Gohan instinctively covered her hands with his, keeping them from making any further movements.

"Please don't." he pleaded in a soft voice. "I don't need to see-"

"I've never really talked about that night, not to anyone. I don't think...I don't think I'll ever be able to, so whatever questions you might have...all I can do is..." she moved her hands from under his, "all I can do is show you...please."

He didn't really know when the night had become so still, when the sounds of a bustling Saturday night had stopped infiltrating through his window. The sound of the fabric rustling as he shifted on the bed, the sound of her low breathing, and the sound of his restless heart—that's all that filled them as he removed his hands.

His pulse thumped loud and furious as she snapped off the button and pulled down her zipper. He gulped, his ears ringing out of control as she slipped her hands inside the sides of her jeans. The air from the window didn't even reach him, he was burning up from his own heat. Down her hips her hands went, as the jeans followed suit. In no time at all, they picked up their own momentum and fell around her ankles.

_Kami,_ he was lucky enough to keep the voice in his head. It's not as if he'd never seen panties before. He'd seen them lots of times—hanging on the line while growing up, in shops, in magazines...he'd seen them plenty of times. He'd never seen them so up close and personal though, with his face almost level with them.

She turned around again, which wasn't much of a reprieve, he was uncomfortably smothering in heat and all kinds of inappropriate thoughts. How could he not, when curves and panties were just there...

With just the tip of her index finger, she pushed them down halfway, revealing more burns, more marks and more scars that reached further than the surface of skin. In an unexpected voice she began to speak: "A metal beam fell on my face and I couldn't move. I tried to push it off, but it was too heavy. I-I..." she faltered, and more guilt consumed him at the haunted pain in her voice. How depraved he must be, for letting his mind linger on the inappropriate at a time like this.

"It was pitch black from smoke," Gohan listened as she found her voice again. "and so hot that it burnt through all the padding in my gloves. I was trapped..." her voice was hoarse, raw, "there was so much smoke...and I just...I couldn't see, I could hardly breathe. There was s-screa..." she choked, "screaming all around me. My clothes caught on fire and I couldn't-"

"You don't have to say anymore," he said quietly. "You don't have to show me, I—" He grabbed her hand and turned her around. "Please...cover up." He reached down to help her pull up her jeans at the same time that she did. Her chin bumped into his head. "Ow," she rubbed it with her hand.

"Oh, sorry." he pulled back, again, at the same time as she did.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I don't know what possessed me just now," she added as she reached down, finally managing to pull her jeans back up. "I know it's hideous, sorry to make you see all of this." She zipped up, snapped the button back in position and lifted up her top.

Awkward, so very awkward as she just stood there looking fragile.

"Well...goodnight," she turned around again - this time to walk towards the door, to leave his room like he desperately wanted her to.

"Videl," he suddenly appeared at the door just as she was about to turn the handle. Tentatively he reached out with his hand and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Hideous can never be used to describe any part of you."

And then he was kissing her.

...

_**That's the chapter you guys. Let the team know your thoughts please, a little hint, hint, and nudge, nudge.**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

...

_**Brought to you by ShadowMajin, DarkVoid116, Kanotari, Lilly-Sama and Gue22**_

...

His lips came hot and fierce as they moved over hers, large hands shaking as they cupped her face, pressing her further into the door. Heart pounding, Videl's eyes flew open as she battled to make sense of the situation. This was coming out of nowhere and she was absolutely stunned. But as her eyes fell on his closed lids, her stomach making a dip, Videl realized with absolute clarity that he was really kissing her. Really kissing her, his mouth hot and insistent, speaking of longing and urgency as it moved hungrily over hers.

_H-How... how could it be?_ But her brain wasn't being allowed to think all that much because the feel of his mouth, of his hands and body as it pressed further into hers was wringing out sensations that had no place in their tattered circumstances. Her body was reacting way too keenly to this, as she tasted tea and heat and a desperation in him that further threw her mind.

She had to put a stop to this before she got swept up in an irreversible torrent of madness. She was already trembling from the way his mouth and his ragged breathing were sending hot bouts of heat down her spine. Without the strength and will to fully push him off, she promptly turned her face away instead, attempting to recover both her breathing and her wits.

It seemed to do the trick though, for his lips now clashed clumsily against her cheek. Thankfully, he seemed to get the message, and with a breathlessness that mirrored her own, he began to pull away, the absence of his body evident from her sudden loss of heat. His eyes slowly peeled open, revealing a slightly dazed, but most definitely shocked expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," he rasped, backing away from the door... from _her_.

"I'm sure you are," she said defensively. It would hardly be the first time a man had kissed her, only to regret it. It was just one of those things, there wasn't much she could do about her physical shortcomings. One look at his face and she knew without a doubt that he was already regretting it. Still though, did he _have_ to have that shocked, near-horrified expression on his face? It's not like she asked him to do it!

"Why would you even kiss me?" she blurted. Even though she'd been the one to put a stop to it, something about the look on his face made her feel like she was the one being rejected. And why it stung, only Kami knew.

She didn't know what she was expecting as a response, the question was more of an outburst than anything else, but that belaboured sigh he'd just made really grated at her. If the act was giving him such a bad headache, then he shouldn't have done it in the first place! "That's not an answer," she bluttered, wondering why she was still standing around in his room.

She was right at the door. She ought to bolt and be done with it. She ought to flee to her own rooms and forget all about this ill-advised incident. But she didn't move. "Well?"

"I thought the reason would be obvious." Though slightly gruff, his voice was rather quiet as he spoke with his eyes rooted to a spot on the carpet.

"Well it's not!" she snapped.

He looked up at her then, startling her when she saw the exasperation written in his eyes. "I couldn't keep my feelings in check, not then, not at that moment. So, I kissed you. I'm sorry."

Videl narrowed her eyes, "First we're _allies_, and now I'm supposed to believe that you're harboring _feelings_ for me? Sure," she rolled her eyes. She'd heard just about enough from him for one night. It would have been sufficient to say that he felt sorry for the poor scarred girl. It would have left a bad taste in the mouth, but at least it was believable. She shook her head, turned and grabbed for the doorknob.

And for the second time in one night, he stopped her. He spun her around and pinned her back against the door so fast she wasn't even able to object.

"Why else would I torture myself day in and day out, watching you?" he said harshly, his eyes blazing with something she couldn't quite read. "Didn't you just ask me a while ago why I did it? Didn't you _want_ to know why I can't seem to keep my eyes off you?"

Videl promptly swallowed, stunned by the rawness in his voice, in his eyes. "I... "

"You _must _have known," he added, hesitant fingers twirling at strands of her hair. "How could I spend all that time, all those hours, _looking_ at you, watching you and _not_ have these feelings?" he murmured dangerously close to her face.

"You can't... have... I'm not," she began to explain to him, even though he'd seen with his own eyes. "I mean you saw... my face, my body, I'm-" She was terribly afraid that he was going to kiss her again. Really her heart was beating way too fast, just way too damn fast.

"But why should that even matter?" he dismissed her feeble protest. "Videl, whether it's the you now, with this new hairstyle and these streaks down your face," he let his thumb swipe at the smudges, "or the crime-fighter from the articles I read about in the archives. The girl overflowing with a dangerous passion for justice. So young, so... selfless," he said wistfully.

She stiffened; she was _no_t that girl anymore, she would never be.

"Or whether it's the you from Capsule Corp. with chopped hair, and this-" His fingers disappeared under her fringe, making her flinch when he brushed lightly against the hidden scar tissue. "Even then, when you couldn't see me as anything but a monster, I still couldn't keep my eyes off you. I didn't _want _to look away." He swallowed, moving his eyes away from her face as he let her go. "And it's true," he said painfully, like an innocent man being forced to confess, "that I found you incredibly attractive back at Yamcha's apartment."

She gasped at that; it simply couldn't be true. "But you tried to kill me," she blurted. Was he some kind of sadist then? Her heart was pounding so much, she wanted to tone down the thudding in her ears.

"You tried to kill me first," he injected. Which was more the point she supposed, given the he some kind of masochist then? But then again, she had never been a real threat to him to begin with. She really, really should have just bolted out of this room a long time ago. Her fingers were becoming fidgety, her nerves shot and it wasn't just the desperate need for a cigarette talking. Though, that particular need was quickly becoming unbearable.

"Look, I know, it was inappropriate back then, I know that." he emphasized. "I didn't even know you, and the circumstances were..." He paused as he seemed to be thinking of a suitable word. "Complicated."

She almost laughed at that. Complicated didn't even hint at their brand of circumstance. Only in an absurd world would a duo like them end up... end up...

He was looking at her again, but at least now he was keeping his distance. This way, she could hopefully _think_. "But," he started to say. "We know each other a little better now right? I mean... at least I feel that we do even if it's just a little bit," he added, staring at her with expectant eyes.

There was an unvoiced question there, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was. How could she possibly decipher anything, when her mind was still reeling from... from... she swallowed. Or tried to swallow the dry lump in her throat. When she didn't answer him, he slipped his hands in his pockets.

"I... I m-mean," he stuttered. "Is it okay that I... l-like you?"

What was he asking her permission for? It was either he liked her, or _thought_ he liked her, or he didn't! "You can't really ask me to give you permission for something like that."

"Oh," he said dejectedly, his eyes returning to the floor. "Is it... the alien thing?"

_Eh?_ What alien thing now?

"Or is it just _me _that you don't like?" he added. "Not that I've given you many reasons to like me, but... I just thought that maybe, if you got to know me a bit more as just Gohan, you might... anyway, never mind."

"It's not the 'alien' thing," she added quickly, finally understanding what he meant. "It's the 'unexpected' thing."

He stared at her, obviously confused.

"The idea that you might like me," she clarified. "It's just something that I never entertained. It's a little difficult to believe even. You were my enemy and then I was your prisoner and we've just recently become allies. So of course it's unexpected. Everything to do with us has been so abnormal that I never thought... it just... it just never crossed my mind. There is nothing _normal_ about this whole situation at all!" She was ranting now, and well aware of it. But jeez, just blurting out that he had feelings for her just like that was enough to get anyone flustered.

He didn't say anything for awhile. He just stood there, looking at her - something she was well used to by now. It was a look she had seen before during her days of "observing" him. He would have that thoughtful expression on his face as he sat in his study going over papers for his mine. Yeah, she'd definitely seen this look. And just as she was getting ready to squirm or bolt or scream or something, he suddenly broke the silence.

"My team has a baseball game tomorrow; will you go with me?"

She blinked. _Well that was... random. _Well, at least it kept up with the theme of this bizarre night she was having. "Lil'Bandits?"

"Yeah," he said as his hands dug deeper into his pockets. He really_ did_ look like the Executive of Son Inc. in this light. "Going to a baseball game on a date is something normal, I think," he added, eyes falling back to the floor.

"Except ...I'll be in the stands alone, while you're down with your team. Not much of a date," she couldn't resist the smile. "What time?" she heard herself say.

...

Dr. Petula Lefu entered the powerplant with a confident stride. A flash of her pass at the guards and she breezed through the security checkpoints without trouble. Considering her seniority amongst the plant's staff—and the fact that she had the most recognizable face there—she was given the most leeway with the security guards.

Waddling down the sterile hallways, her white lab coat rustling against her aged, flabby body as a briefcase dangled from one of her hands, she allowed her beady eyes to flicker from the forms of her co-workers. Compared to most of the people here, she was very short, her poofy white hair barely reaching the chest of many of the men there. With the women she was lucky to see over their shoulders when they were standing.

Turning a corner, she made her way to a set of doors at the end of the corridor. As she closed in on the steel doors, she pulled out her keycard, ready to swipe it in the card swiper next to the metal door frame. However, before she reached it, the doors swung open and a rather attractive man in a blue overall appeared in her sights. His first action upon seeing her was to wish her a "Good morning," but his words died on his lips once he saw her. Considering her face was wrinkled with flabs of skin hanging from her cheeks, she looked more like a pug dog than an actual person. A large wart that grew above and to the right of her right eyebrow also didn't help her looks.

"Well? Are you going to stand there like a slack-jawed idiot or are you going to get out of my way?" Lefu demanded crankily. The worker immediately moved out of the way, holding the door open for her. Glowering, the scientist walked through the doorway without so much as a "Thank you."

Once the door closed behind her, Lefu stared at the large reactors in front of her. Glaring at them, she turned her sights to the left and then the right, looking for the control room. To her right she found a metal staircase that led to a room that hung from the cinderblock walls. A large window was at the front of the room, allowing the doctor to see the forms of people inside. With a grunt, she trudged her way towards the staircase and mounted it one step at a time until she reached the top. Swiping her keycard in the swiper, she heard a dull buzzing sound, indicating that she could open the door. Grasping the handle, she yanked the door open and walked in. Immediately she spied the presence of two other scientists. The two ignored her as they continued their monitoring of one of the computer stations there.

Waddling into the room, Lefu made her way to her own personal station and dropped her briefcase next to it with a loud thud. One of the scientists looked up from his station and stared at her, rolling his eyes a brief moment later before turning back to his work. Lefu just gave him a sour look in response. Sitting down in her chair, she immediately turned on her computer and watched as the monitor flickered into life. Typing in her ID number and password, she waited until she was allowed into the computer system.

"Johnson, Sparks," she suddenly barked in a grave voice, getting the attention of the other two scientists. "Have you inspected the reactors yet?"

"We were just about to go do that," Johnson, the man that had rolled his eyes at her, answered. Immediately, Sparks nearly jumped out of his chair and began making his way to the door, Johnson following at his heels. It was almost as if they were grateful to have an excuse to leave the woman's company. Lefu watched as the two exited the room, the door closing loudly a moment later. She continued staring at the door for a few more moments, waiting for any other plant personnel to arrive. When no one came, the scientist turned back to stare at her monitor.

It was then that her features began to smooth out. Her stumpy body began to elongate and thin out. White hair darkened into black and flowed down to touch her shoulders. Beady eyes slanted, but maintained their dark color. Once her transformation was complete, Agent Black crossed her legs and began typing on her keyboard.

Windows began popping up on the computer monitor as she flew through several different computer programs. Her eyes processed every flash of data and action the computer made until she found what she was looking for. A schedule for reactor maintenance was displayed on the screen. Searching what times each reactor would be shut down, a smirk began to form on Black's mouth as she found one that matched her specifications—Reactor 6.

Immediately, she began accessing the Reactor 6's power levels. Since every thing about this powerplant was computerized, all the gauges and scales were digital, giving a numbered reading of every relevant statistic necessary. Searching each number, Black soon found one indicating MWt. The current level read 1282 MWt.

Her fingers began a blur of activity then. It only took a couple moments before a small window popped up entitled CALIBRATION. Finding two icons that held a plus and minus sign, Black clicked on the plus sign and notice a bar appear next to it. Typing in 500, she then saved the entry and looked at the MWt reading.

A shark-like grin appeared on her face as the number read 1782.

Black quickly began closing all the windows and programs she had opened until her screen was blank. Uncrossing her legs, she then assumed the hideous form of Petula Lefu, twisting her ugly face into a snarl. Standing up, she grabbed the handle of her briefcase and began waddling her way out of the room.

Her job was done here.

…

To think, she was actually going to come.

He'd barely seen her this morning, though they'd woken up in the same house. The damn thing was so big. With her father wanting to hoard her attention all morning, he'd barely been able to utter a nervous good-morning. The words had barely left his mouth when the father-daughter duo had disappeared to do whatever it is that fathers and daughters do. He wouldn't know, he'd never had a sister.

Still, he grinned happily. She was coming, in the fully disclosed spirit of a proper 'date' and in itself was more than enough to carry his mood for the rest of the day. To think that when he'd accepted Yamcha's offer to join the coaching staff as an assistant manager, he'd had no idea that it would come with the potential to pay dividends in his romantic and social life. Because here he was, galloping around the Lil' Bandits' field, preparing to show off his more normal side to Videl. He wanted to see those newly-redefined features, that slightly more vibrant smile beaming at him, but he needed to make it happen, and soon. The raven-haired beauty had yet to arrive, but she was scheduled to any minute with her father.

Since all of the youth baseball players were either nine or ten years old, it was rather impossible for him to showcase any advanced techniques or skills, so the mining entrepreneur was currently standing off to the side, leaning against the silver linked fence. The scar-faced former bandit had his hands grasped around a cylindrical, beige maple bat and was attempting to exemplify the perfect stance to generate enough balance and power to drive the baseball.

"Hey Gohan, can you come over here?" he called out. Gohan quirked an eyebrow curiously, but nonetheless abandoned his relaxing position and strutted over to his companion.

"What's up?" he said, glancing down at his watch, wondering exactly when his special guest would arrive at the ballfield; he could still sense her ki rather far away. Refocusing his eyes on the older warrior, he saw an outstretched hand with a worn, dirt-stained baseball in it.

"I'm trying to show these kids the importance of a clean, level swing and how keeping your eye on the ball, but maintaining your balance is important to hitting the ball on the nose. Can you do me a favor and pitch a nice, easy toss down the heart of the plate? Make the ball curve away from me a tiny bit to throw me out of my normal rhythm and force me to reach for it."

Gohan nodded fervently and stalked out towards the pitching rubber. Obviously both he and Yamcha could clobber the ball into the next stratosphere using their powers, so it would entail a good amount of restraint to keep it not only visible, but up to normal standards. The young man gripped the small object with his right pointer finger and pinky along the ruby red seams, preparing to create the correct amount of spin on the ball to make it tail away from his opponent.

Once his friend and comrade found himself in a comfortable batting stance, Gohan slipped his throwing arm out his glove - which he'd picked up after receiving Yamcha's instructions - and stealthily hid the hand behind his back, bending forward slightly. The batter held the hitting instrument between his hands, grasping the handle of it. The barrel of the bat was positioned above his back shoulder, swaying softly in the light breeze; his legs were bent at the knees and positioned a few feet apart, lending him flexibility in his next move dependent on where the pitch went.

With Yamcha ready, the pitcher reared his pitching arm backwards and simultaneously engaged in an over-the-top leg kick before hurling the baseball at professional-like speeds towards home plate.

The Bandits' coach took extra precaution to exaggerate each motion since he knew his Saiyan counterpart had pinpoint control. He leaned his weight backward on his back foot, making an 'L' with his back elbow, before stepping forward and towards the likely location of the pitch with his lead foot. As his weight transferred from his back foot to lead foot, his arms reached full extension and the barrel of the bat connected with the baseball, the small sphere making contact with the sweet spot. Yamcha had restrained enough of his strength to not send the ball into orbit, but it did go rocketing towards the outfield grass on a sharp line drive.

With his mission complete, Gohan stepped off the dirt mound and walked towards the black, metal bench with a hop in his step. That demonstration, as simple as it'd been, had also been rather fun since it was alongside his childhood buddy. As he sat down and tried to think of anything _but _Videl, he heard Yamcha preach on and on about how the solid, strong contact displayed in their little exhibition at-bat was only possible because of the balance, weight shift, and level swing.

Rolling his eyes at how much Yamcha was bullshitting - he only was good at baseball because he basically saw the ball in slow motion - Gohan laid his back on the bench and dozed off, the final image crossing his brain before dreams overtook him a small, petite body pinned up against the wall of Yamcha's apartment.

He was woken up some amount of time later by a small, soft tap on his shoulder, signalling somebody wanted his attention. He stretched his arms out and yawned, then groggily opened them, wiping the grit out the corners. When his world came back into focus, a pair of beautiful, ocean blue pools stared right back at him.

"Sleeping on the job, I see," Videl snorted. Her usual sarcasm had returned a bit but it held a different, more playful tone to it than before. She outstretched a hand, beckoning for Gohan to sit up on the metal seat.

Flips and flops competed in his stomach when he saw her. "Y-Yeah, sleeping," Gohan mumbled tiredly. "When did you get here?" he hoisted himself into a seating position as he awaited her answer, doing a quick sweep with his eyes to locate Yamcha and the rest of the youth players.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe twenty minutes or so," she shrugged. "Shouldn't you be helping your _womanizing _friend, though? Does he know I'm coming?"

"Err," he scratched his head. "He doesn't," he grimaced as he dusted off his gray, loose-fitting baseball pants and rose to his feet, "I guess, I owe him an explanation about uh..._us_." The word felt so loaded, it just wrecked at his nerves even more. Especially considering how 'normal' and at ease she seemed. He would have to get a grip as well, if he was hoping to impress her.

He cleared his throat. "Shall we?" he offered his hand. Sure it was agreed that this was a 'date', but he'd hate to be presumptuous and just take her hand. He'd been presumptuous enough with the kiss last night. He was trying to woe her here, fully aware that her feelings for him were not quite decided, so he wanted to be a gentlemen at all costs.

He was quite relieved when she reached out to take the hand without hesitation, their fingers locking as they walked hand in hand towards Yamcha.

..

"Hey Yamcha," he began sheepishly as they neared the ex-the bandit, who was standing alone, away from the kids. "I err," he began nervously, his hand sweating in hers. "Invited a guest to watch us coach; I hope you don't mind..." he trailed off. He knew very well that Yamcha would definitely mind, given what Videl had put him through. But it was best to get this out of the way as soon as possible.

The reaction of the former martial artist could only be described as a picture worth a thousand words. His eyes widened to extreme proportions, his fingers twitched visibly, and his ki unconsciously rose.

"What is _she_ doing here, Gohan?" Yamcha spat out through gritted teeth. His aura began to intensify in strength, the winds it produced zipping through the air at greater speeds.

To anyone except Gohan, he just looked angry, but the eldest demi-Saiyan could tell he was barely holding back well-placed anger and animosity directed at the girl who'd nearly castrated him.

"Calm down Yamcha," he began soothingly. "I know it's a lot to take in all of a sudden but she turned over a new leaf," he explained as calmly as he could.

That did nothing to appease his friend's murderous aura though.

"Look," he tried again. "She's helping us bring down her former bosses, okay?"

Yamcha walked over to Gohan, his frustration and anger written across his face as he pulled him aside. "She tried to kill you, Gohan!" he hissed, "She would have succeeded too if you didn't have an impenetrable skull. She shot you point blank," he reminded his conversation partner, "and she is an extremely well trained assassin. We have innocent children here!"

"I know, but Videl would never hurt an innocent child, please try to bare with it Yamcha. In time you'll come to see for yourself that she's changed. It's not like she was evil to begin with. Besides, you know that everyone deserves a second chance. _Everyone_ Yamcha." he added meaningfully.

"Do what you want, but just keep her the hell away from me," he spat. "but if she tries anything at all with these kids, I won't hesitate to snap her pretty little neck."

Gohan had to resist the urge to growl at his friend. He couldn't help feeling protective of Videl just as much as Yamcha couldn't help loathing her. He took a deep breath, and addressed his friend calmly. "Did you not have less than pure intentions the first time you met my father and then have an epiphany, a renaissance?" he attempted to reason with him.

"That's different!" Yamcha protested vehemently. "I fought with your father but I never fired a weapon at him point blank with the intent to murder him. I was just making ends meet at the time, but your father helped me see the error in my ways."

"That's fine Yamcha. Videl now knows that her boss was a very dangerous and corrupt man. She's through with that life now." Gohan asserted. "Please try to accept it. Besides," he added lamely. "It err... it would be real awkward if you... you know, hated the woman I was dating," he informed him, cheeks burning.

"Say what?" Yamcha's head snapped up, his eyes growing larger than Gohan had ever seen him as he looked between the two of them. "D-Da... d-dating?" he finally spattered in shock looking down at their hands, noticing for the first time that they were joined. "Y-You're dating her too?"

Gohan nodded, "We just started. Please Yamcha you can't tell my mom about... you know," he pleaded softly.

Yamcha muttered a litter of incomprehensible curses, his feet even stomping around before he turned back to face them. They stood there watching as millions of expressions passed on his face before he finally seemed to accept and relent. "Fine, Gohan. I'll back off. I still disagree with you but I suppose everyone deserves a second chance." he mumbled sourly before storming off. And it was just as well that Videl's ears were not nearly as sensitive as his because Yamcha was still muttering as he walked, "... Can't be accused of cock-blocking a friend anyway..."

With the matter settled and done with temporarily, Gohan turned towards his attractive plus one, offering her an apologetic smile. "Well, that could have gone better but..." he trailed off.

Videl regarded him with disbelief, "Actually, it went better than I ever imagined it would. He didn't even try to get retribution, not once. I'm shocked. He should have at least got in one good punch."

"He wouldn't dare," he said dangerously, but then checked himself before he continued. "You'll come to realize that most of our friend's have pasts of their own. It will take time for the trust to grow, but I won't allow anyone to judge you."

"Gohan, it's okay. There are things...I don't expect to ever be forgiven for."

He squeezed her hand, "Nothing is unforgivable," he assured her.

"So...um..." he thought it best to steer away from this line of talk. "Let's see if we can find a place in the stands to watch the game," he began to pull her along. "How did it go this morning with your father?" he began to ask as they walked along.

...

It was rare that something rattled Impho Pho, but this morning something had. He had walked into his office and sat in his chair like always, only to find a manilla envelope on his desk emblazoned with the word 'urgent,' and what he saw inside did not make him a happy man.

Agent Tan's smiling face was not the first thing he wanted to see in the morning, never mind in a picture dated 'yesterday.' Yet there she was, wearing a baseball cap and chatting away with the Delivery Boy himself. He searched around in the envelope, hoping for an explanation of some sort. All he found was a list of digits.

The nefarious man's fingertips flew to his phone, dialing the number. "Khakhi," he said when the ringing stopped. "Explanation."

"I found Agent Tan," she said proudly.

"I can see that..." Pho seethed.

"She's alive," the operative added.

"I'm not blind, agent."

"And it looks as though she's made friends with the Delivery Boy."

The agency director had to agree. From the starry-eyed look on the young adult's face, he'd wager that they were more than friends. Impho Pho glanced down at his wristwatch impatiently. "Just tell me how." 

The amount of venom in the director's voice must have shocked the agency's temporary number-one. She gulped, audibly. "I'm still not sure, sir."

"I expect you to be sure before you contact me, agent. That has always been my policy. I don't appreciate it when people waste my time."

"It just that..." Khakhi paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "I was doing some research into Agent Tan's past, hoping to find something that might tell me where she has been hiding. The thing is..."

"Spit it out," Pho ordered. "I don't have all day."

"I wasn't the only one looking. Her files have been accessed at least twice in the past several days by IP addresses outside the agency, and it gets worse. Whoever it is has been searching our whole database, sir."

Pho hung up the phone on the spot, swearing loudly. So Agent Tan was a rat now, filthy disgusting vermin. He knew just how to deal with those, but this mysterious searcher; that was unsettling. Whoever it was would soon feel the agency breathing down their neck.

The black phone rang softly, stealing the man's attention away from his furious musings. "What?" he demanded tersely.

"Sir..." Khakhi started hesitantly. "There's more."

The director sighed heavily. "Go on."

"I learned that Agent Tan has been to visit her father, and I inquired around the house. It seems she went on a little trip a few days ago."

"I don't care about her travel plans, agent," Pho insisted.

"But sir, she paid a visit to the World Government."

For the second time that morning, the agency's leader abruptly hung up the phone and swore. Leave it to Del Tan to know just how to wound him most. He took a deep breath, resting his chin on his clasped hands. How could he use this? There had to be some way to take Agent Tan's actions and turn them in his favor... the corners of his mouth twitched upward into a cold smile as his mind settled on the answer. If Agent Tan wanted to warn the World Government, that was fine. Let the government dogs think they were safe. Let the ignorant pigs think his intel wasn't as good as theirs. This was the perfect opportunity to move his plans forward.

He was coming for them, sooner than planned.

_**That's the chapter. Please leave a comment.**_

...

**Dear Readers,**

**Considering that the 2nd year anniversary of our group is nearing, we thought it best to do something to celebrate putting up with each other for 730 days. As such we came to the conclusion that we wanted to do something for you guys who have read and reviewed our stories. On May 8th and 9th, several of our authors (such as Razamataz22 and Gue22) will be participating in a Questions and Answers section on our forums. This is your chance to get to know the writers of TDS a little better and we might even be able to give you some advice. We look forward to seeing what it is you wish to hear from us and will appreciate any feedback.**

**Much obliged,**

**Team Dragon Star**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_Brought to you by Boboleta and Gue22_

...

Grey clouds of water vapor moved languidly under the dark cover of night below them. And as they sped past the nuclear plant, Gohan couldn't help but gaze out with admiration through the tinted windows of the Son Inc. jet. Those twinkling lights blurring down below belonged to his facility - a fact that often put a smile to his face. He could literally smell the clean emissions as they puffed out harmlessly from the wide cooling towers.

He sighed, reclining back against the velvety nap of the suede chair. Across from him, his mother was curled up comfortably on the concave couch with a book, her other hand occasionally stroking the glossy finish of the four-star ball affectionately while her face randomly scowled as she flipped through the pages. The four star ball may have represented Grandpa Gohan to his father, but to his mom...the ball was a tangible reminder of her husband. Sometimes the young executive worried that her fixation on the thing was a little unhealthy, but...who was he to judge? His own personal _fixations_ of late could be argued the same and besides, they all dealt with the loss of his father in different ways.

Next to her sat a sulky Goten with his arms folded stubbornly as he gazed disinterestedly out the window, the thin cord of his headphones dangling down his neck. Gohan didn't know what to say to his brother anymore - Goten was still angry and appalled about the nature of his new relationship with Videl.

Somehow, he'd naively expected the teen to pat him on the back and offer his congratulations, but Goten's reaction had been anything but. It had been far more explosive than Yamcha's and Gohan had been shocked that he'd had to physically hold his brother back from lunging himself at Videl. It still sent chills down his spine - perhaps it had been too soon to introduce them.

He sighed, sinking further into the plush chair, his forearms rising slightly as he lifted his arms off the thick armrests, reaching for the glass of water that was slightly humming to the jet's glide. He took a few sips, then placed it back down on the tray, closing his eyes. It had felt so weird, seeing such an enraged emotion on that face - a face that was the splitting image of their father's. The two were similar in so many ways: physical attributes, personality, mannerisms, tastes and general luster for life. Because of these similarities, Gohan sometimes forgot that, although care free, Goten was still his own person. He didn't just wave everything off like his father would have. No, his anger at Trunks the other week and now this botched up introduction to Videl had reinforced that.

Time, he decided as he let his head rest on the edge-roll of his chair. What Goten needed was a little time to get used to the idea of the two of them.

Caught up in his thoughts, Gohan only noticed their arrival at his grandpa's house when the autopiloting system made the announcement. The landing was smooth and uneventful as always and the doors swished open a few minutes later.

It was late and they were all tired, so the walk from the landing pad to the house was rather quiet. Effortlessly Gohan slipped in, his mother's luggage slung over his shoulder - Goten was more than strong enough to carry his own, of course.

He placed the bag on the floor, smiling affectionately as the large figure of his grandpa walked in from the study to greet them.

"Grandpa!" Goten exclaimed excitedly, rushing forth to pounce on his enormous grandparent with a hug only a large man like Ox King could withstand without toppling over. Laughter bubbled easily from his throat as he embraced the larger man, a big child-like grin plastered on his face. Yeah, he may have his own personality, but in many ways he was still as excitable as his father.

"Oof! Did you get stronger while I wasn't looking?" his grandpa teased.

"Of course," boasted Goten, folding his arms in agreement. "I'll be catching up to Gohan's strength in no time," he said haughtily. There was something about the way he was standing - arms folded, back straight, chest puffed out - that made him think of Vegeta and Trunks. Ah well, influences, what could you do? But then he went on to flash their grandpa a grin so much like their father's, it almost knocked him down.

"Humph! Too strong if you ask me," Chichi piped in, moving in swiftly to give the large man a hug and kiss of her own. "I told you how much poor Gohan had to pay for that wall he destroyed when he punched Trunks through, right?"

Gohan felt sorry for his brother; that was the incident that had nearly seen him back to homeschooling. His brother cringed, looking away, but thankfully their grandpa was somewhat skilled when it came to handling their mother's wrath. He swiftly sidestepped the issue without touching it at all.

"And how's my oldest grandson?" he boomed instead, much to Goten's obvious relief.

"I'm great Grandpa," he said, moving in to give a hug of his own. "No matter how big he was, he still felt tiny in his grandpa's large fold.

"You look it," the larger man ruffled his hair like he was still just a boy. "The rooms are ready Chichi, for you and Goten like you asked. There's one for you too Gohan, if you want to stay the night. We can catch up."

"I'd love to stay," he said, glancing at his watch. "But it's late and I have something I have to take care of tonight."

Goten scowled at that, but he didn't say anything thankfully. The threat on his life and everything else that had to do with Videl and her agency was being kept strictly as a secret from their mother. They both knew how she'd react if she ever found out. No place would be too far to keep Videl from her clutches; it would be an absolute catastrophe for all of them. Of course, Goten didn't exactly share his opinion on the matter, but...

"I'm just going to fly myself, so I'll leave the company jet behind, if that's okay Grandpa."

"Of course, of course," the large man waved it off. "We'll have plenty of time to catch up on Saturday."

His mom waved off his offer to take her luggage to her room and said her goodbyes hurriedly - muttering something about needing her rest and the whipping of the staff about their disorganization for the upcoming party. Gohan watched her disappear down the corridor, effortlessly tugging her bags along as she did so, her purse slung over her shoulder with the bulge of the dragonball protruding from its sides.

"I'll see you on Saturday at the party, Grandpa," he said before smiling fondly. He then turned and wrapped an arm around his shorter brother's shoulders. "Walk me out, Squirt."

"Hey, I told you not to call me that!" Goten protested as they stepped up, to which he only chuckled.

As soon as they were outside, Gohan fixed a serious expression on his face. "Well, Mom should be well distracted by the preparations for the party to be suspicious so-"

"I know Gohan, I know, I won't let what's going on slip alright? I've kept my mouth shut so far; you can count on me."

"I know Goten, I know I can. And hopefully you guys will be safe here until King Furry's team takes care of business, but if anything happens-"

"I'll protect Mom," he said with confidence. "You don't have to worry about that, you should be more worried about yourself. Can you really afford to close your eyes at night now that you're...you know, sleeping with the enemy?"

"Goten..."

"You almost died! I can't...I _won't_ forgive her," he said stiffly. His anger was still so raw and palpable, and the emotions on his face...

"I only ask that you tolerate her," Gohan said quietly, he had no right to force Goten on this issue, no right at all. "For me okay? Please..."

"Just...watch your back alright?"

"Always."

He flew off then, his gut twisting at the anxiety on his brother's face. Videl was waiting for him and the knowledge both thrilled and shamed him. He was being selfish in this, disregarding his brother's feelings, Yamcha's feelings, but he just...

He sighed, speeding up as his aura enclosed him; there was nothing he could do - nothing he _wanted_ to do. He was determined to see where this thing with former Agent Del Tan went.

…..

Gohan definitely didn't mind having Videl warmly pressed against his body, but after hours of flying he could feel her squirming and adjusting her position ever so often. Her surprisingly strong arms were starting to tense up around his neck and something told him that their quiet, peaceful journey was about to become anything but. Gohan knew neither of them all that well, but he was pretty sure that one thing both Videl Satan and former-agent Del Tan had in common was a lack of patience.

"For God's sake! Where are you taking me?" she finally blurted out. "The other side of the world?!"

"Close enough," Gohan responded with a shy smile. Her feistiness was definitely a turn on as far as he was concerned, but sometimes it just got a bit... scary. He tried not to think of how she resembled his mother in that aspect, but alas... no such luck. "Actually, there it is."

His chin tilted up, directing her attention to a bright dot in the horizon. Even though the hour was late, he knew the residents of the Kame House to be some sort of night owls - at least the younger adults - so there was still a pretty good chance that they'd be up when the two of them were to arrive.

It was an executive decision coming over unannounced, but it was essential security-wise. Gohan couldn't risk a phone call being traced to warn them of their arrival as much as he didn't risk some kind of tracking device having been installed on one of Capsule Corp's ships or hovercars. The Briefs' residence was only a suitable safe house because of Vegeta's presence, but unfortunately the same deal as for the Satan manor applied: too many people, too much probability for disaster.

A moment of silence deluded him into a feeling of acceptance on her part, but it was ephemeral for her voice shrieked into an echo that tingled his sensitive ears. "You can't be serious! It's in the middle of the ocean!"

"Well, thanks to you, my house is not off the grid anymore and you didn't want to stay at Capsule Corp. so..."

"_You_ try and be under the same roof as the guy who tortured you for a month! See if you like it!" Videl snapped and it pinched his gut to know exactly what she meant by it. He had seen so many things throughout his life, all sorts of things, and he was mostly sure that she did too. His father's and his friends' deaths still rattled his sleep from time to time, but being forced - by none other than himself - to watch her being tortured like she had... If nothing else would do it, Vegeta was certainly fuel for nightmares and she had her fair share of him to last her a lifetime.

"I know that and again I'm sorry, but..." he said, solemnly, pausing to organize his troubled thoughts as his eyes wandered far away. "I just want you to be safe."

"I'd be plenty safe in my father's mansion."

"You don't honestly believe that," Gohan retorted. "The more people you surround yourself with, the greater the chance of one of them being a spy and turning on you."

"But you're surrounding me with people anyway! People I don't even know, might I add!"

"_I_ know them. And I'd trust them with my life. I have, actually, in the past. They're good, honest people."

"Hmpfh... I'll be the judge of that."

The only thing he could utter to follow that was a sigh that he kept brief and quiet so as not to add to the tension. This was the right thing to do. He'd made plenty of wrong choices and poor decisions ever since he met her, but this was definitely not one of them. Or at least that was what he kept telling himself over and over again. Even if somehow the agency found out about Master Roshi, how he was his father's former sensei, or how he was associated with himself or Bulma... even so, the damn island was so undisclosed that it might just be the most secret little place on the planet. He prayed as much.

Swiftly touching down, Gohan shifted his hand from around Videl's waist to her hand and gently pulled her towards the door, adjusting the small backpack's position on his shoulder. Normally, he'd been announcing his presence with a well-placed shout, but even if the adults of the house were yet to retire for the night, it was most definitely past Marron's bedtime, so he paced quietly and knocked on the door.

"Hey, guys. It's Gohan," he spoke, not too loud.

The door was invariably left unlocked, but it was only proper etiquette that he'd wait for it to be opened as he always did whenever it wasn't ajar. It didn't take too long anyway and Krillin was the one to greet them.

"Gohan?" the short man inquired unnecessarily out of sheer surprise. "Wow, Buddy, I haven't seen you in forever!" Krillin beamed with a finalizing chuckle. He stepped out for a hug that the young Saiyan was quick to reciprocate, indulging in the comfort that only an old friend could bring. A true friend.

After their moment, Krillin's eyes were quick to lock onto the unknown face next to them and Gohan couldn't help but feel a small speckle of pride for his friend. The look in Videl's eyes would be just enough to have scared the small monk shitless once. Heck, it would have scared _him_ too! But not anymore, not after what they'd seen in life. Nevertheless, they told him to not cross their owner and so his next question didn't address her identity, but their purpose there. "What's wrong?" he asked, stepping aside to let them in.

Master Roshi appeared behind Krillin, most likely leaving the television show he was so fascinated with. He had a frown on his aged face, knowing all too well that a midnight visit to his secluded island could only come as a last resort, a solution at the bottom of the list. Without a word he listened.

"I'm sorry to have come at such an hour," Gohan begged politely. "I need your help."

"Of course, my boy," the elder assured. "You know you can always count on..." he trailed off as he stared right at Videl.

"Hey there Baby!" his lecherous voice exclaimed loudly, any pretense of seriousness dying a quick death. "Where have you been all my life?"

"Thank you, Master," the young man said anxiously, adding a respectful bow. The last thing he needed at the moment was Roshi going into full-pervert mode. He slowly turned around and looked back at Videl, trying not to blush about the fact that he considered introducing her as his girlfriend in an attempt to keep Roshi at bay. Instead he opted for "My friend needs a place to stay."

They all knew what that meant. The young woman needed to vanish from the face of the Earth for some reason, because only that was motive enough to make the tiny Kame House a suitable place to accommodate an extra guest.

"What's her name?" a female voice spoke from the corner, leaning against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gohan began, sheepishly. "This is Videl. Videl, these are Krillin, Master Roshi and 18."

"Don't you worry, my boy, we'll take _real _good care of her," Roshi immediately said. "Come here girly, let's get better acquainted!"

…..

For the tenth time in as many minutes, the young woman looked at her wristwatch. Heaven forbid he'd actually show up on time for once.

She stood just beside the large window of the Java the Hut Coffee Shop, her usual spot since it was just around the corner from home. _And_ they had those amazing cinnamon rolls, baked in-house on a regular basis - even at such an ungodly hour like midnight - and her ''comfort food" of choice on those (thankfully) rare occasions she needed that extra dose of butterflies and rainbows at any given day. A fresh batch was clearly in preparation and all that sugary and cinnamony scent was starting to make its way to the streets surrounding the small caffé. She could just imagine how incredibly divine it'd smell inside and breathed deeply in and out and slowly, a trick she told herself was like eating one of the delicacies without the actual calorie intake. Maybe it wasn't true, but hey... it was _that_ good.

The work day had been a tough one, not only because they had a lot to do, but also because Sasha fucked up - again - and she had to clean up her mess - again. All that she really wanted right now was to go home and take that damn bra off. Why did she have to insist on "beautiful" instead of "comfortable?" And those shoes were no good either. Where _was _he?!

"Hey, gorgeous!" she heard a guy call and the specific timbre of the voice made her smile even before turning around to meet him.

"Hey, Handsome!" Erasa shouted excited and ran those few steps to meet her friend in a tight hug. Sharpner's chest felt cozy and comfortable even if touching it wasn't really a habit for her. It made her go back for some reason. Not exactly to a simpler time - because the "teen years" hardly were "simpler" - but to a better time. A happier one.

She took her moment but was quick to let go of him, looking up into his chocolaty eyes with that frown she could only pass as "real" with strangers and distant acquaintances. Her friends knew better and as such, the blond man started to snicker even before any words came out of her mouth. "How could you?!" she scolded, slapping the very area on his chest that she had previously taken as a pillow. "You didn't return my messages or answer any of my calls. I haven't seen you in months!"

"I know, babe. I'm sorry. You know how it is," Sharpner sheepishly offered as an excuse.

Erasa's expression switched to wry for a couple of seconds, remembering how his job could be really demanding time-wise. She was so damn proud of him, all important and sophisticated - how could she stay mad? With the flick of a switch her bubbly self was up and running again and she suggested taking it inside. "Let's get that coffee then, ok?"

"Sure," the tall man responded, stepping to and reaching for the door. He opened it for her like there was nothing to it and Erasa couldn't curb the grin that instantaneously took over her face. He had always been a hottie growing up, but these "grown man" actions and the way he carried himself nowadays just added to the view. His jaw was more defined too Erasa noticed as she passed by and entered the shop, so the change was also a physical one, even if just slightly.

They took their seats and ordered their coffees, indulging in general chit-chat about the weather and their crappy jobs and all those things that adults apparently talk about in such occasions. Their beverages came along, hot and steamy in short espresso cups and they did their part in the preparation while enjoying the comfortable silence that enveloped them both. Sharpner took the sugar packet and ripped it open before dumping its entire contents into the dark liquid and Erasa did her thing, bypassing that step entirely and going directly for the little metal spoon, swirling it around the contents of her cup. A pointless gesture given that there was nothing to mix in, but one that she got accustomed to before pledging to cut sugar altogether from her diet. All apart from that teeny-tiny chocolate square after dinner, of course. She couldn't say no to _that_.

"I missed this," she said after a while, with a smile as warm as the memories that came back to her.

"Yeah, me too," Sharpner agreed softly and even if she couldn't take her eyes off the miniature whirlwind her spoon was creating inside the small cup, his smile was obviously infused into his words.

"I miss her." The words came out of her as a whisper, more to herself than to anyone else, but a sense of melancholy had taken over her and she couldn't keep that confession inside any longer.

Sharpner didn't respond, but she could see that he missed her too. Videl was their best friend after all, and even if she had died a long time ago it was a non-retractable membership; life or death had no influence and nothing to do with it. Nonetheless, he was the one to break the silence again, his words heavy and sad. "Did you see it? On the news?"

That same feeling that came over her when the news anchor opened up the dinner time broadcast last week, that one that made her break the pricey vase she had on her kitchen counter against the damn TV rushed to fill her up again. "How could someone do that?! She was a heroine! How could someone vandalize her statue like that?!"

"Calm down, babe. It was probably just some drunk asshole who didn't even know what he was doing," Sharpener tried to reassure her, but his eyes were not abiding by his words either. The sadness was stirring his insides too and it wasn't something that her blonde friend would show all that much - he was a skilled actor when it came to masking that particular emotion. It quenched the fire instantaneously since he was probably right, after all. Videl was well loved all around the world and people in SatanCity were incredibly proud of sharing the same provenance as _the Savior _and his daughter. This person couldn't know what he or she was doing because no one in existence would hold such a resentment towards Videl, such a hate and such a fury for everything that that statue stood for. No one would knowingly discharge all of their wrath on the _daughter of the city_'s memorial. There was no reason and no way.

A playful smile etched itself on her face now. "Speaking of drunk assholes..." she said, pausing for dramatic effect. "Do you remember _that _Halloween?"

Sharpner laughed in that distinct way she loved and was quick to respond. "How the hell can a person forget something like that?"

"The first time we all got really hammered..." she recollected. "And our first real hangover. God, it hurts just to remember it." Erasa giggled her words and agreed. How can someone forget how it felt to nearly _die _- even if she now knew it was a common feeling the day after one's first drinking spree. So much alcohol...

"Pfff, 'it hurts'," Sharpner mocked. "_You_ didn't have to endure a pretty messed up beating the day after at Mr. Satan's dojo. He really gave it to me! Like I was the only one to blame."

Erasa's giggle turned into a full-out laughter. She didn't remember that part, but then again the horrid "day after" was still a confusing blur altogether, so... One thing she _did_ remember though. "You were the one who got us the booze!"

"Yeah, I guess..." He joined in her chuckles, looking down at the empty cup and saucer and ripping the empty sugar packet into tiny little pieces.

That thought that would come popping out in her head from time to time appeared again and she took the opportunity to ask for his opinion on the matter, her words wishful and far away. "What do you think she's doing right now?"

"Ha! I know exactly what she's doing," he blurted out like he'd thought of that very same thing many times before. His grin was contagious. "She's beating up some fugitive hell-dwellers and kicking their butts back to where they belong. Keeping the order up there, for sure."

Erasa's girly pitch made the nearby customers turn around to face her laughs, but she wouldn't care even normally, and so now she just discarded it altogether, not attempting one of her usual "can I help you" cheeky lines. She shook her head from side to side at how true Sharpner's words were. There was no other option. A deep breath calmed her jiggling insides. "That's Videl for ya..."

"Hey, she died doing what she loved. I just wish I have the same fate."

At that, her eyes narrowed and she tried with all her might to come across as all wicked and serious. "Don't you dare die on me, you hear?!" It seemed to have the opposite effect though, and his amazing smile just got bigger.

"I'll try. I promise," was his answer just as the rattling sound of his vibrating cell phone clattered the ceramics and silverware across the table. He checked it and puckered his lips to the side.

"Work?" Erasa asked softly. Unfortunately this kind of thing came with the job as she came to realize. It wasn't his fault.

"Yeah," Sharpner said, stretching the word to show his displeasure and placing a couple of coins on the table. Enough for both, she noticed and smiled. As much as he insisted he wasn't one, she knew her friend was a true gentleman and it warmed her heart for some reason. "Sorry, babe. I have to go."

"That's ok, sweetie," she reassured, getting up with him and going for a final hug. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, lazily at first, but then squeezing with all her might when she felt him tighten his own embrace and bringing her body closer. Extremely snug, extremely long, and she welcomed every single second of it.

"I promise I'll make more time for you," he pledged, cupping her face between his hands and looking into her eyes.

"Soon, ok?" Erasa whispered.

"Soon."

He left quickly after and jogged across the street and out of sight. Erasa took a deep breath and watched him through the window while she plopped herself on the upholstered seat, her mind blank and tired to boot. The city was still buzzing with activity even if not nearly as much as with the daily grind of your common "daytime worker." She hated late shifts, but there was some sort of tranquility that only a darkened sky and the fluorescent lights on her home route managed to bring her. And those glances she exchanged with the random individuals that crossed her path, like they shared a secret or an understanding. Like they had their own little club. "The Midnight Workers," she mused, but quickly discarded, reminding herself of prostitutes. She snickered to herself at the thought, wishing that Sharpner was still there so she could share it with him.

That friendly waitress she loved came over. "Can I get you something else, honey?"

"A cinnamon roll, please. It's one of those days."

…..

Videl's scowl was impeccably kept throughout the whole interaction, even if due to nothing else than force of habit itself, though having to put the old pervert in his place added to its intensity. Gohan's slight blush and corny behaviour would have been adorable, and she would definitely have forgiven him for addressing her as his "friend" - not that she wanted him to call her that other thing - but her mind raced away at the mention of that name once she got her emotions together.

_Master Roshi_... Where had she heard that before...? And master of what, by the way? Not to mention 18... Was that even a name?! Strange people with strange names living in a microscopic island somewhere in the middle of the ocean. These are the kind of people that Gohan not only associated with, but actually called "friends."

"Welcome, Ms. Videl," Master Roshi said in a more acceptable manner, a hand rubbing his cheek where a very red handprint was. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you need."

Videl felt her eyebrow twitch. Although the old man was being cordial, his eyes were clearly not looking at her fac - wait, was he checking out her breasts?!

"Master," Gohan uttered gratefully, albeit embarrassed from the first introductory exchange. The young man's voice was almost in a whisper and he was bowing even deeper than before. The respect was palpable across the entire room and it made Videl feel like she got to know a little bit more of his personality from that gesture alone. It was cut short though, by the actual words being spoken.

"That's it?!" she asked, almost appalled. Despite the lecher's grabby hands and her subsequent reprimand, these people were taking her in as if this happened every day; and this wasn't including the fact that Gohan had only asked them to help them! All eyes turned to her at her outburst. "He just says he needs something and you people just... give it away?! Just like that? I could kill you in your sleep, for all you know."

"Videl!" Gohan rushed in with his own frown, a surprised one.

"It's quite alright, Gohan," Master Roshi stepped in, reassuring the young man with a straightened palm. Oh great, _now_ he was trying to be serious. Calmly, he addressed her again. "Miss Videl, I've known this young man here since he was but a tyke. Four years old I believe." He turned his head back. "Was it four, Krillin?"

"Hmmm,... yeah, I think so."

"Four years old," the elder continued, returning to Videl. "And before that, I knew his father ever since he was a child himself. You may not believe in trust, but in our world it's as precious as the air in our lungs and we live by it."

"And what kind of world is that?" the young woman asked almost in a dare, crossing her arms across her chest.

"A world very few get to enter."

A simple statement that Videl took as nothing less than an insult, and old man or not she'd slap him right across the face - again! The nerve of him to come and lecture _her _about different worlds. She knew of it better than anyone! All the misery and pain, all the corruption, the unfairness, she'd seen in all. Famine, torture and death... heck, she'd even administered two of those herself!

The old master must have caught on to her musings because he continued accordingly. "I can tell that you have a knowledge beyond most, but since I'm assuming you are aware of our mutual friend's... special conditions," he said, momentarily tilting his head towards Gohan, "you can understand that there's more to this world than what meets the eye or what makes the headlines."

The alien thing, she deduced. That had to be the world he was hinting at. One could easily forget that the tall man to her side was - all things considered - not exactly a man, but not her. Having been on the receiving end of his wrath and power it was something that was extremely present in her mind, even though it was all that she knew about it. That it existed. Ok, he was different, but how different? What happened to the other aliens? When did his father come to Earth and why? All these questions surfaced with the information about his true self, but it wasn't her place to ask them at the time. Now, however...

"I trust Gohan with my life," Master Roshi continued, "as I'm sure he trusts me with his. We all do in our little group and that's what kept us, you and this whole world alive. I trust his judgement and his word, so if he needs my help, I don't need to know anything other than just that."

What a naive way of life she thought. Trust was as precarious as the object it applied to and given the premise of human nature, it definitely wasn't something she'd put her money on. And what the hell was he talking about, _keeping the whole world alive_?! She didn't dig that much into the matter, but the alien thing was quickly taken care of, even if the military took a huge toll in the process. All this secrecy was giving her a headache and an ill humor, and a cigarette was definitely not far in her future.

"Thank you again, guys," Gohan said with a soft smile, quickly ending things like he was afraid that they would escalade beyond repair. "You have my number in case of an emergency and I'll come by as soon as I can, ok?"

"Gohan, can I talk to you outside?" Videl ordered more than asked, stomping towards the exit and through the threshold, halting only when the tide came rushing to meet her. He followed her after a moment - a _long_ moment, she thought. Too long, which only added to the frustration. Harshly, she spun around to him, piercing gaze and threatening frown, and her words cut right before his. "You are _not_ leaving me here with these people."

"Videl, I-"

"No! Don't say anything else, don't try to convince me. I can very well take care of myself."

"You of all people should know what the agency is capable of. If they ever found out that you switched sides, that you were helping me take them down, they'd be after your head as well as mine! And you used one of the most dangerous biological weapons in existence to try and kill me; imagine what they could do to you!"

"They don't know where I am and even if they did... you can protect me." Those last words got out, but struggled and laboriously like she had to go search them out of the dictionary.

"Yes, I can. But then there would come a time where you'd put it in your head that I'm just babysitting you and you'd go out all by yourself and do something stupid."

His words cracked something inside. Of course. How could she ever think that all of this came out of the goodness of his heart or out of those things he promised he felt for her? Yeah right, as if someone like him would actually _choose _to be with someone like her.

"Oh, so that's what this is all about?!" she snapped. "I'm not here to be hidden, it's because I can't leave!"

"It's not like that." He sounded tired, sighing. Poor Mr. Half-alien. Maybe she was boring him.

"Of course it is! It's obvious now. You let me believe that I'm actually free, that you actually like me so that I'd see this whole thing as you looking out for me. You just want to lock me up here! But since it's outdoors, well then it's not like the previous hole you threw me into, is it?!"

"How can you say that?!"

"It's the truth! I'll never be free again because you'll never truly trust me again! You'll always be there to make sure I'm behaving, watching me, and following me. I... I can't live like that!"

He grabbed her by the shoulders a little tighter than she felt comfortable with, but what made her shiver were his eyes, piercing right through to her soul. She was expecting some sort of excuse, a sweet talk to mellow her out into submission and damn him if he wouldn't be able to get his way with just a glimpse of that glorious smile of his. But that wasn't what she got. Instead his face was stern, demanding nothing less than her full, undivided attention. It made her feel small, defenseless... exposed.

"Just because someone likes you doesn't mean that they're going to take over your life," he said, pausing to let it sink in. "This is the safest place on Earth for you right now and that's why you're going to stay here. You can kick and scream all you want, but it won't change anything because this is the _one _thing I can do for you and I _will_ do it. I really don't care if you believe my intentions or if you believe that I genuinely like you because this is more important to me than your ability to see the truth. I _will_ keep you safe."

His words touched her much deeper than she was expecting them to - if at all. More than liking her - _if_ it was actually true anyway - this man cared about her. Former-agent Del Tan knew people - her job demanded nothing less than that since it was an invaluable asset when it came to finding them - and selflessness was definitely _not _a normal trait of your average person. To have someone tell her to her face that he'd rather have her disregard his feelings - disregard _him_ - than risk her own safety...

His dark eyes were on her blue ones and as much as they were uncomfortable they pulled her into them, making her not wanting to look anywhere else. This couldn't be true. How could anyone care for her like that by their own accord? He wasn't family. She wasn't even sure if he was a friend, even though he was friendly enough. He had no obligation to feel like that about her. Hell, he had no right!

The frown that he valiantly kept to make his point was losing its fight with the awkward silence that surrounded them, softening ever so slightly into a concerned expression that loosened the unyielding grip he had on her. His voice was raspy, mixing in with the waves crashing on the background. "I have to go," he said and she nodded slightly in response.

A strand of hair left its place with the breeze, touching her face, but he was quick to put it back with a gentle tuck behind her right ear. His fingertips tickled her skin coming down, goosebumping the hair on the back of her neck before settling to cup her warm cheek. Gently, he let his thumb brush it like if tracing the blush she just knew was tinting her pale skin.

And then his eyes wandered to her lips and Videl swallowed dry, knowing fully well what invariably would come with that look, with that touch. But then again, did she really want to run from it this time around?

His movement made her trap the air inside her lungs, even if absentmindedly. It was different this time. It was paced and deliberate, not fueled with overwhelming passion even if she could feel it charging the air around them.

His delicious breath clenched her gut and closed her eyes shut, intoxicating all of her senses like she didn't even realize it was possible. Not with her. Never with her. All of her doubts kicked in at the same time - childish ones and legitimate ones, rational and not. He was tricking her, she didn't deserve him, she was hideous, everything and anything popped up and died down in the matter of a second and when all was said and done... she couldn't care less anymore

Her instinct kicked in - the one she had always relied on her entire life and that kept her alive more times that she dared to consider - and she took those last inches, instantly taking notice of how different their skins felt against each other. His soft and warm. Hers dry and chapped. Irrelevant now though, as everything else around them.

For a moment he made her believe all of it. All of the things he said and all of the things he did that were supposed to have come out of his feelings towards her. For a mere, simple moment, she didn't have to choose between truth or lie, past or present. He made her see her future with that kiss and he made her wish that he was there with her. Damn him. These sensations were not for her to have and she had come to terms with it a long time ago, but now that they were here, now that she couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't send them away, it made her feel... embarrassed. A grown woman shouldn't melt like this at his touch, but what a touch.

It ended way too soon with the characteristic "pop" of their parted lips and he looked into her eyes again, this time with a small smirk like he was proud of himself to have been able to take the risk. It made her feel like a prize and she would violently knock it right out of him if it wasn't rubbing her hot just the right way. Sexy son of a bitch...

In no time at all, he was lifting up into the air and booming away with a shockwave that blew at her fringe and exposed the glossy skin beneath, but she didn't care and so she skipped her usual rush to cover it up again. His spell was still bathing her like the moonlight on that small beach and in an obscured corner of her mind she knew that that was exactly the reason why he left so fast. Sexy _and _smart... dear God in heaven...

She didn't want to trust him. She didn't want to fall for his words or abide by his decisions, but here she was doing all of the above. And she was pretty much at peace with it.

A harsher gush made the scarce vegetation ruffle around her and she hugged herself for warmth. With a deep, final breath Videl turned around and slowly walked inside again, wasting no time to retrieve the cigarette pack she had tucked away in her jacket pocket. If Gohan came tomorrow without a new, full one he'd better not come at all because alien or no alien he would freaking die at her hands.

The click of the closing door behind her was all the sound on the otherwise silent living room where none of her three hosts were to be found anymore. She shrugged it off, not really in the mood for small talk anyway, and took the few steps to the nearest window, opening it up slightly. In a well practiced move, the small box in her hand was opened and closed and one of the sticks was dangling from her mouth, ready for duty. She put it back in her pocket and patted her jacket for her lighter, but it wasn't there, making her close her eyes and sigh in exasperation. A plan to search the premises was about to be formed in her head, but something beat her to it. Or someone.

Looking to her side, the blond woman from before was pointing right at her face and a single dot of light was sitting on the tip of her finger. Videl remembered the trick from when Gohan did the same for her while she was still caged back at Capsule Corp. and she leaned in, letting the little orb ignite her cigarette.

18 brought her hand down and grabbed one of the two bottles she was holding, silently extending the other one to Videl. The label read BEER so she took it without a word, following her hostess lead to look outside into the dimly lit night.

They drank quietly, hypnotized by the crashing waves and gurgling beer in their hands. The woman smelled nice she noticed, a hint of vanilla enveloping them both. There was something about her, about her presence, but nothing she could put her finger on. Like she was standing next to someone, but at the same time she wasn't. The previously comfortable silence was starting to feel heavy somehow and Videl decided to break it. Some random question would do the trick. "Where will I be sleeping?"

"Marron's room," 18 responded without a glance back. "Up the stairs to the left. Krillin went to move her into ours."

Videl nodded, assuming that Marron would be their daughter or something. She took a moment to consider if she'd thank the blond. Videl Satan would, just as certainly as Del Tan wouldn't, so... where did she fit right now? For the second time in her twenty-something years, Videl's life was spun around violently, leaving her aimless... again.

She didn't want to think about it though. It became something of a routine to ignore her feelings and the thoughts about herself and her life so now that she was more than ever forced to face them and to deal with them, it became somewhat overwhelming. It wasn't what she needed right now. Or ever.

"How do you know Gohan?" 18 asked, seemingly uninterested.

What could she respond? It wasn't like she wanted to be there in the first place, but she didn't really wanted to be thrown out anyway. And to where exactly? There was nothing but water for miles! She tried to remember how to be diplomatic and formulated her answer accordingly. "...it's complicated."

18 simply snorted, intensifying Videl's resident frown - if it was even possible.

"What?!" She asked.

"I met him after he killed a biologically engineered chimera that regurgitated me out of his body. _That's_ complicated."

Videl stared at the other woman, not really sure if she'd heard her right. She had to be joking...right? _There's more to this world than what meets the eye_, the old man's words came to memory. She didn't really use to believe in aliens either - not before joining the agency - but there you have it. She was kissing one now.

"I tried to kill him," she finally admitted, low in tone and in volume. It wasn't like she was ashamed of it - it _was _her assignment at the time - but she didn't need the scolding as she didn't need pity or compassion, either.

"Many have tried," the blond woman responded without elaborating. It wasn't what Videl had expected to hear, she had to admit, but as she thought about it maybe it was just this woman's way of transmitting endearment, even if in a laconic, almost mechanical way.

"Yeah, it's a common offense," another voice added from behind them and Videl turned around to face the small man that was coming down the stairs. "I couldn't count them all with my two hands."

His words were lazily thrown around like they meant little or nothing and it kind of took her aback. That couldn't be true. She knew Gohan wasn't exactly "normal" and his power was something she didn't quite understand to its fullest extent, but the guy wasn't even near his thirties! How could he have gotten so many threats to his life like that? Sure, he had an important job within an important company that dealt with a sensitive, precious commodity, but even so. _There's more to this world than what meets the eye. _Damn it old man...

Videl stalked Krillin as he entered the kitchen area and heard him move stuff around, clinking and clanking as he went. Her mind wandered, fueled by her curiosity more than anything else. Who, when, and why. In what seemed like an instant Krillin was back and sat at the table next to the two women, drinking what her sense of smell decided was strong, freshly brewed coffee.

Its aroma was quick to take over the whole room and she found herself craving for a cup. She must have been staring back at the man's own cup because he stood up and said through a small smile "I'll get you one."

Her cigarette was but a stub and she pressed it against the outside ledge of the window. Suddenly she stopped, just before her next move, one that would come absentmindedly, but that was now freezing her in place. What should she do with the butt? The indecisiveness scared her since it was definitely not something Del Tan would allow in any way. She was actually thinking it wasn't polite to toss it outside to her hosts' front yard, an action she couldn't care enough to even register doing before. Videl stared at it like she didn't really know what it was when a faint _click _sound brought her back to reality.

The blond woman had closed the window and without request or suggestion took the thing from her hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can, taking a seat and a cup next to the small man - who had apparently returned from the kitchen himself.

A lonely cup of coffee was sitting across from them, steaming and waiting for her, so she obliged to it and sat down, slowly, wrapping her hands around it for warmth.

Videl looked down at the dark liquid and focused on how her soft breaths disturbed the milky vapor into whirlwinds. She was changing, as they were. After all that she'd learned about the agency and about that worthless piece of shit that used to be her boss, she knew her life would never be the same again. She'd killed for him and as it turned out, not every one of her targets deserved the fate he attributed. It caused her stomach to churn and what was left of her heart to clench, but the revenge that she would die to have would help quench the fire. Or so she hoped.

But then what? She didn't even know who she was right now let alone what she was becoming. Was she bringing Videl Satan back from the dead? Was she softening Del Tan's innate frown? Or was she turning into something else entirely? How would she know? When? Her mind knotted yet again and she closed her eyes for a second, only reopening them with the voice of the man she now knew as Krillin.

"You must have a whole bunch of questions, huh?" he asked and she hurried to look up at him. He must have read it in her features that her mind was running haywire and even if the subject wasn't the one he presumed, it was still bugging her immensely, so... she took the bait, nodding.

"What do you want to know?"

"What happened to the aliens, eighteen years ago?"

"One died, one lived." Krillin responded after thinking for a moment and looking up to the ceiling as one does when accessing distant memories. Eighteen years was a long time ago indeed.

"Where's the one who lived?" She continued.

"He lives at Capsule Corp. His name is Vegeta."

Videl's eyes widened severely at the mentioning of that... man. No, that was not the proper noun - there was nothing humane about him.

Krillin chuckled quietly. "I see you've met him."

She didn't respond, discarding the shiver down her spine and moving along, adamant to milk this opportunity for all that it would give her. "How about Gohan's father?"

The small man's features lowered into a light frown and for a moment Videl thought she'd ruined her chance of getting more answers, taking notice of how she'd hit some sort of a nerve.

"Goku died a long time ago," he said softly.

"He was an alien too, right? Like the others?"

"He was _not_ like the others!" Krillin snapped, his scowl now controlled and tightened defensively. A deep, calming breath brought him back to normal after a moment, his tone low and solemn. "They were from the same alien race, but he was a kind, amazing man. He was my best friend and the best thing that ever happened to this planet so please, don't compare them."

_Sheesh_... ok. Some sort of a man crush going on there, Videl thought and promptly put behind her, proceeding to face the blond woman that kept staring profusely at her. Was she even blinking?! "So, is this the _ET club_ headquarters or something?"

"Err... what do you mean?" Krillin asked, confused.

"She did that thing with her finger. Gohan did that too so I assume she's one of them," Videl explained, looking for nothing else than confirmation of her theory, since it was the only rational justification.

The former monk was even more confused than before and quietly addressed his wife. "What did you do with your finger?"

"I lit her cigarette," 18 answered without removing her cold blue eyes from the ones that stared back.

"Oh, that!" Krillin finally grasped. "No, anyone can do that. See?" His index finger pointed up and sure enough, a small dot of light appeared hovering above it.

_Anyone can do it_...? Really...? She sure couldn't and her father couldn't either, Videl was sure of it. A weird feeling ran up her spine and clenched her gut like her brain was trying to tell her something that she wasn't being able to see. Her father... he wasn't capable of doing those fireball thingies and he sure couldn't fly without a backpack or something. Videl's mind lost itself in the shiny orb like it was hypnotizing her, talking to her. Her father couldn't... but the others could - the fighters at the Cell games. The pieces of the puzzle started aligning through the cobwebs of that specific part of her memory and the dots connected, one after another and another, only to culminate in a blanched expression that came from the only logical conclusion... he couldn't have done it.

"Are you ok?" Krillin asked, genuinely concerned. She didn't really know the answer to that question, although she _was_ feeling a little bit light headed even if her pride would never let her admit it. A sip of coffee would do it she thought, trying to remember what it was that coffee did to blood pressure exactly. She was mostly certain it helped increase it.

Quickly, she decided to evade the question with another one and let that bomb of a realization for later. It couldn't be true... Her father wouldn't have lied about such a thing. He was a good, honest man even if it ended up rubbing on infuriating at times. No, she wouldn't believe it. Not until he told her so. Or Gohan... yes, she had to hear it from Gohan's very own mouth and he _was _going to tell her the truth. The whole truth. Her mind produced yet another random inquiry and she placed it as naturally as she mustered, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. "Who's the old man?" Her damn voice cracked...

"Who, Master Roshi? He's the founder of the Eternal Turtle School of Martial Arts," Krillin explained.

The Turtle School, of course! Her eyes rolled up in annoyance for not being able to remember it all by herself. That obsolete "Way of the Turtle," or whatever that was. She thought the old man had died already.! She remembered seeing his picture in some crinkly old book - the Tenkaichi Budokai's... something something - and he already looked only a few weeks away from kicking the bucket, then! She couldn't help but feel impressed though... and a little creeped out.

"Was Gohan his student?" She asked.

"Not directly, but his father was and he was one of Gohan's teachers, so... in a way, yes," the small man clarified and his choice of words spiked her curiosity.

"_One_ of Gohan's teachers? Who are the others?" Videl pursued and she must have used that specific tone of voice that she normally did when trying to "persuade" random individuals for intel, because his body language changed dramatically. Anxiety, uneasiness, doubt. Her frown deepened to press it further. Now she _really _wanted to know.

"Hmm," Krillin hesitated, "maybe you should ask Gohan that."

"Why? If you know it, tell me."

"It's... not that simple," he muttered.

"Give me a break! I saw people shape-shifting into all sorts of creatures when I was in the agency. Nothing surprises me anymore," Videl said, although "surprises" wasn't the best word. It wasn't like those things didn't amaze her... she just didn't make a big fuss about them anymore. Maybe "jaded" was more suitable.

Krillin sighed, looking over to the blond woman as if silently asking for her opinion. She didn't respond - or move for that matter - but he talked anyway, albeit in a rush. "His name is Piccolo and he's an enormous green alien from a planet called Namek." He paused. "Also he has antennae."

The young woman just stared at him, blinking and skeptical. "... a green man from outer space. Really?"

"A _big_ green man, yes."

A short lived staring match ensued, but she was quick to shoot it down with a glimpse of her growing frustration. "How original... You don't have to make stuff up, you know?"

"Why is _that_ harder to believe than the Saiyans transforming into giant apes when they look at the moon?!"

"What?!" Videl shrieked, something completely unbecoming of her.

The man's eyes widened severely to match her own, surprise and shock more than evident, but obviously for different reasons. "Oh, no, no, don't worry. Gohan had his tail cut off years ago! It doesn't happen anymore."

This time she tried to control the pitchiness, but managed only barely. "Tail?! What tail?!"

"Oh, boy..." Krillin whispered to himself.

"Everything you think you know about life," 18 interjected abruptly, droning her words, "Gohan knows ten times more than that because he _lived _ten times more. There is a lot that you don't know and that you will probably never understand but either way," she paused as she stood up, "you should ask _him_ about it."

Her words would cause Videl to be offended - and show it - but coming from this woman she couldn't avoid actually believing them. Maybe it was her authoritative tone or the way she carried herself - "efficiently" was the most suitable adjective. Every action and every word, meticulously calculated and proficiently delivered. How could she _not_ believe what she was saying? Her previous joke about being regurgitated by... something came to mind, but Videl just added that to the extensive mental list she was carving out for Gohan, watching the couple take their leave with some sounds she assumed to be their good nights and a couple of further instructions on how to operate around their home. She'd figure it out.

Her coffee was cold now so she stood up towards the kitchen to pour the rest down the drain, only to stop in her tracks as she reached the archway. That damn feeling again... like she was second guessing herself, like she suddenly was not comfortable anymore with the actions her own body was taking as per instinct. She walked back after a sigh and took the other two empty cups.

It was only polite.

…...


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

**_Brought to you by Gue22, Boboleta and ShadowMajin_**

* * *

><p>Maybe he was getting paranoid.<p>

His fingers had been itching to dial Kame House to check in on Videl all day but... he was worried. What if the agency was listening in on his conversations? It was possible, especially now that he knew how extensively ex-agent Del Tan's surveillance of him had been _prior_ to making her move. She'd planted cameras everywhere, watched his every action, private or otherwise. Funny how he'd never given it much thought till very recently, but now that things were changing between them. He'd catch himself feeling embarrassed about the possibility of what she'd seen of him, back in those days.

He groaned, not entirely in displeasure, when he considered the fact that she must have seen him undressed on some of those occasions. Sure, there'd been no cameras in his bathroom but... when you lived alone, you didn't exactly feel pressed to restrict your bare skin to the confines of your bathroom. And having a camera in his bedroom meant... well, it meant there was a strong possibility that she'd _seen_ him on those nights when his body would be so wound up in sexual tension that he'd have to _ease_ it... somehow. He was only flesh and blood after all, and being single all his life well... he _had _to take care of business in some other way.

He stood up, pushing out his swivel chair as he did so. Well, tit for tat he supposed; he'd done his own _watching _while she was being held at Capsule. Boy, what a pair they made: peeping Tom and Jane.

He sighed, moving away from his desk to stare blankly at the large world map on the south wall. His eyes followed the red dots sticking out in random patterns, signifying all the locations of the Son Inc. mines while impatient fingers ran through his hair. This office was stifling him. What was the point of being here if he couldn't even concentrate? It was getting late anyway. He could very well wrap up and go home, not that there was anything waiting for him there. There would be no welcoming smells from his mother's house next door, no unchecked laughter spurting from his brother... nothing.

And his own house... he sighed again, feeling silly as he gazed at the red dot that that signified the small mine closest to . Many a time in these past few weeks he'd thought of just blowing the entire structure down, rebuilding and starting afresh. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but there was an uncomfortable eeriness about it now, like the 66 was still floating around in the air, waiting to smother him to death while he least expected it.

The ample office was getting smaller and smaller around him with each breath he'd take, white walls mocking him and his qualms with their constrictive boundaries. He had to leave.

With wide steps he strode to the nearest window, swinging it open and taking a deep, cooling breath of freedom. A well rehearsed move undid his burgundy satin tie and threw it somewhere to the side, just before climbing out and flying away into the dark of the night.

Maybe he should have informed his secretary, but he just couldn't be bothered right now. There was somewhere else he needed to be.

* * *

><p>It was gentle, but incessant and just damn annoying. What was it with this island anyway? Only a day in, and she'd already found more than enough things that rattled her teeth. She squinted in the dark, clumsily reaching for the light - another thing that irritated her. It danced down from the ceiling in all its pink, musical glory, dredging up memories long dead of two skinny girls - one with neat dark hair and the other, long golden locks that fell down her back in a mess of waves, the two of them misstepping then arguing and pushing each other in their bubbled tutus when they couldn't agree.<p>

She didn't want to be ungrateful for the free digs, but this room and its accessories were just way too pink and girly and _five_!

That annoying tapping again, what was it?

She threw off the pink covers, tiny toes brushing against the fluffy mermaid shaped rug and stomped to the window. Viciously, she split open the curtains, prepared to deal rather severely with whichever island creature it was that was keeping her from her sleep. She was not however, prepared to come face to face with Gohan's sheepish face. She sighed, irritation and anger dissolving like a cube of sugar. With little effort she slid the window open, a hint of a breeze blowing in with just a touch of fine sand.

"Hey," she heard herself say, biting her lip. This was... unexpected.

"Hey," he said back, dark spikes angled at her as he leaned his weight on the windowsill, head and shoulders poking in. "Can we uh..." His eyes dipped down her length for a second before running back up again. "Take a walk?"

He'd seen much more of her than this "thighs bare under oversized t-shirt" look, but she still felt a little embarrassed by the way his eyes had flown to her face guiltily after that point-two-second appraisal.

"Um, sure. Give me a sec," she said. Thankfully he disappeared, so she didn't have to squirm about letting him or not letting him see her as she dressed. Honestly, all these uncertainties and school-girl internal debates were really annoying. She was an adult, and a pre-exposed one at that. What was with all the misplaced modesty? Grumbling, she slipped on a pair of jeans and climbed out the sill. The sand was cool, grainy and kinda squishy under her feet as they sank into it. And for some reason, the sensation combined with the act of crawling out the window in the middle of the night, made her feel young and innocent again... well, young maybe, innocent was too much of a tall order.

He held out a hand to her, which she grabbed, a ridiculous warmth lighting up in her belly. She was aware of the soft, almost crackle-like crunch as their feet carried them, her hair blowing awrily in her face. It was a nice night - clear, calm with only the whispers and the humidity of the ocean surrounding them.

A gentle squeeze on her hand, "Are you getting on okay?"

"It's fine, Master Roshi can be a bit... _liberal_ with my personal space, but it's nothing I can't handle."

He chuckled. "I forgot to warn you about him, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it; I'm a big girl. At least he's not shy about it," she chuckled too. "And he's mild so..."

"Mild?"

Videl shrugged, "Compared to some of my ex-colleagues at least. When they think you're not listening, men can be... anyway, never mind. Any news from the world leader?"

"No. Not yet."

"I see," she tried to sound neutral, but really she was bristling with impatience. Every drop of blood in her system was crying out for vengeance. But she couldn't tell him that now could she?

"I uh, I brought you a few things." Gohan reached inside his pocket and pulled out a capsule.

"Cigarettes and whiskey I hope."

"Sorry, no whiskey. Didn't think of it. But uh yeah, the cigarettes are in there. I thought a laptop might come in handy and there's a phone in there as well. Bulma assured me that it's safe, so you can uh... you know, call me if you want. I got a new line myself, an anonymous line, just in case. The number's already been stored."

"I'm glad you're being thorough. If I know Pho, he's probably gonna play it safe for a while, watch you, pinpoint your weakness and then use it to lure you out so he can try again. I know I would."

"Mom and Goten have gone to stay with my grandpa for a while. Goten's just a kid, but he's strong. If anything happens, he'll protect our mother. My grandpa's security has also been alerted to be extra careful. I hope it will be enough until the government moves in."

"I know you don't want to hear this, but... I still think my plan is the safest choice. With my information and your skills, we could permanently dispose of Pho and wrap things up in an hour. We could do it right now."

"Videl... we've talked about this."

"Just saying," she shrugged, chin tilting up to receive the cooling breeze coming from the south. It was a relief to feel so carefree in the wind, the urgent need to keep her forehead hidden had vanished. He'd seen all her ugly parts anyway, both in and out, and he seemed to be okay with them. He was what he was, and _she_ was what _she _was, and as such there was really no point in trying to pretend that her feelings on how to handle her former boss had changed.

She wanted his corpse - unmoving and unfeeling and preferable in some deep unmarked grave so his very existence could be buried. It would give her great satisfaction to know that he would never plot a single thing ever again with that perfect head of his; and she was determined to see it through. She just didn't know _how_ yet. On this warm night though, she knew better than to say more on the matter, so she left it behind like the footprints they were making in the sand.

"In other news," she broke the recently acquired silence. "I hear you do a little shape-shifting on the side. Big Ape? That surprised me."

He stilled, the momentum taking her with, their feet digging a little into the sand as they came to a stop. She didn't know whether it was conscious or not, but he had somehow dislodged their previously entwined hands. Big chocolate eyes were widened in astonishment as they faced her. "W-Who...who told you that?"

"Your good friends, the Islanders, who else?"

"It's not like that!" he blurted, a hand running through his hair. "I can't even do that anymore, not without my t-t..."

She chuckled. "Tail?"

Gohan groaned, a pitiful, resigned sound. "I can't believe them, no sense of discretion. I should have known. What you must think of me now." He sighed, shoulders slumping.

Videl pursed. "I'm not _that_ shallow, it's not like I'm some kind of _specie-ist_ or something," she grumbled, slipping her hands in her pockets, only to pull them to rub her arms instead. "You saw my stylist the other day," she added after a small uncomfortable silence. "Did I shy away from his big paws and swishing tail?" She looked up at him, an itching sense of irritation threatening to take over her mood. "Give me some credit." She turned away then, walking towards the water where it lapped leisurely against the sand.

The muddy texture was cool and pleasant when it touched her toes, the gentle scour of the grainy water reminding her of spas and mud baths and exfoliations. A pang, when a bubbly face framed in blonde ghosted with the patched memories. She moved to hug herself, but strong arms beat her to it, encircling her from behind.

"Sorry," Gohan murmured into her hair. "I wasn't accusing you of prejudice, just..." He inhaled sharply, letting her go. She was surprised at how quickly she mourned the loss of body heat, but he'd only moved to stand in front of her, placing firm hands on her shoulders. "Being different, growing up always feeling different, has a way of making you shrink into yourself, luring you to hide that which makes you different so you can... you know... fit in."

"Is that why you did it?" She turned up her face, gaze fixing on the lone coil of hair bouncing stubbornly in protest of the force of the wind. "Why you... hid the _real_ truth about the Cell games from the world? To keep your secrets so you could fit in?"

"They told you about that too? Great."

"They didn't have to. I was bound to figure out that my ex-target was the real world saviour sooner or later." The taste of bitterness coated her mouth; he'd saved the world with his bare hands and she'd rewarded him with the 66 - what a trooper. "You could have told me. It fits the picture quite nicely though, doesn't it?" she muttered. "Father and daughter: the world's two biggest frauds."

"Don't say that! You're not like your father," he urged with a sympathetic frown that did nothing for her. How could she believe him?

"I'm worse! He's just a liar, while I..." She sighed, giving up on finding a suitable word that could sum up all of her sins. They were just too many. "I just don't understand you. My father stole everything from you, everything that should have been yours and I... I put you at death's door and-"

"I could _never _live like your father, with the eyes of the world on me, so in a way he did me a favor. And look at it this way," he said with a smile, stepping closer and hugging her lazily around the waist. "If you hadn't put me at death's door, then we wouldn't be here now," he kissed her cheek ever so softly, "...together," and then the corner of her lip. "I like where we are Videl." Finally, her parted lips. "I like it very, very much."

Videl closed her eyes and smiled back. She liked it too.

* * *

><p>Great. Apparently she'd acquired an extra shadow.<p>

It wasn't that hard to realize that she was being followed, and her training had nothing to do with it. The island was so small, she could hear the girl's footsteps crunching in the sand from the other end of it as she trailed behind her.

Why was she sneaking though? It's not as if her attempt to exercise was an exclusive activity. She'd attempted to run a few laps around the island, but... with its size... all that round and round had felt more like whipping pirouettes in a ballet studio than running.

Regardless, her golden-haired shadow had followed her soft trudging the entire time. And now that she had stopped to push a few sit-ups instead, the girl had taken to peeping at her from behind the corners of the pink Kame House walls.

"You can join me if you want." she announced.

The bobbing head ducked, though the tips of her shoes failed to be as clandestine. Videl resisted a smile. "You can help pin my legs to the floor."

The sound of fleeing footsteps was the only response she received. Great. She was so socially inept that she couldn't even coax a ten-year-old into sitting with her. Muttering an incomprehensible grumble, she crossed her arms over her chest and began to rapidly raise her torso with her abdominal muscles. Crunch after crunch, she worked her muscles until she could no longer rise from the floor.

Spent, she collapsed onto the sand with a damp and heaving chest, the soft whisper of the oceanic breeze caressing her skin like the gentle blow of a lover. It took a few minutes for the burn and tension in her muscles to subside while she stared dully at the blanket of blue hovering above her. Really, blue was so overrated; it stared at her first thing in the morning in the mirror, stared at her from above, and it was all she could see no matter what direction she faced. Bored, she roused from the sand and trudged back to the house.

"I'm bored," she announced right off the bat when he finally picked up. Really, you'd think she was calling her father or President Furry himself, the way the phone had just rang and rang, unanswered for what seemed like an eternity. She'd been about to give up and toss the damn thing.

"Um, hey... can I call you back?" Gohan near whispered. "I'm just in the middle of something with my HR manager right now."

Settling back against the crescent shaped scatter pillows behind her, Videl visibly scowled at the dolphins flying on the thick strip of wallpaper ahead. "Would this be the lovely Talia? Ms. Queen of confrontations?" The woman's pleasant face immediately leapt from her memory files and burned itself at the forefront of her thoughts. The hitch of his breath was all the confirmation she needed. "I see."

"Wha...h-how did you...you know Talia?"

She scoffed, squirming atop the fluffy duvet uncomfortably. Sometimes he was just so naive. "Talia Dew. 27 years old. 10 Sani Road, West-City. Green eyes, red hair. Freckles on the bridge of her nose," she began to list what she could remember of the facts she had gathered on the woman, though she did not care to mention the ample bust and curves. The more details she remembered of her physical attributes, the more painfully aware she became of hers. She jumped off the bed and stood before the oval shaped mirror, noting just how _unlike _the voluptuous Talia she was. She scowled. "Graduated fifth in her class at East U. Single."

There was silence on the other end that made her wonder if he was still there. And then: "Videl." She did a double take at the stern tone. Gone was the nervous stutter of a few seconds past. "Why do you have all that information on Talia?" The hard protective note of disapproval in his voice was unmistakable. It was rather clear that he cared for the woman which was perfectly in line with his character. Still, after what she'd overheard his mother say about her all those weeks ago, she couldn't help but wonder if he cared for her as an employee or something else?

An ugly, unrecognisable thing took root in her belly. "In my field, one should always have the drop on the potential competition."

"Compe...Competition?"

"Give me some credit." She pinched the tips of her fringe, tugging down on them fruitlessly in an effort to elongate them. "According to your mother, _and _the substantiating video footage," she gave up on her hair all together and turned from the mirror. "You were eyeing her rather lusciously at last year's award ceremony."

"Lusci...Videl..."

"I know you have a thing for her, you used to blush to the depths of your toes anytime her name was mentioned. It's childish to deny it."

"Listen, Talia-"

"Look," she added hurriedly and interrupted whatever it was he was preparing to say, hating herself for hating this woman just because she'd made him blush. "I was only calling to say that this hole you've dumped me in is starting to cave in on me," she deliberately veered as she gazed out the window, watching the flighty movements of little Maron as she laughed, feet sailing after a mermaid on a kyte by the edge of the water.

He was silent, as if in thought. Which only made her spew out more words. "I'm going out of my mind from boredom here, I can barely think straight." Right. As if that was an excuse. God. If only she could run out there and bury the evidence of her jealousy deep in the sand.

"It's only been two days," he said, rather tiredly. No doubt her petty remarks had finally done him in. "I know there's little to do over there, but please try to bare with it a little longer."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered, knowing she was being unreasonable but unable to help herself.

"Look, it's already Wednesday today," he stated the obvious, "hold out for three more days okay? This Saturday, my grandpa's kingdom is having a big celebration for his birthday. It's an all day and night event and I'm sure Eighteen has a dress you can use."

"Are you stupid?" she stared incredulously like the kyte she was watching outside had done some kind of circus trick. "No way am I going to some grand royal party with you!" Was he mad?

"Wha...why not?" the shock in his voice made her shake her head in disbelief. "There's so much planned! There'll be a great military procession around the villages with music and traditional dancing. The Bull Masters have a spectacular show organized and in the evening there's a concert of-"

She rolled her eyes. "As much as it pains me to miss the renowned Ox Kingdom's Bull Masters in their overpriced capes and skintight pants," she said dryly, "have you forgotten that I'm in hiding? You can be sure that the agency's eyes will be all over that party."

A pause. "Right. Sorry. Sometimes I forget."

_Sometimes I forget?_ She resisted the urge to grind her teeth. God! He must really think that Pho and the agency were beneath his consideration if he could so easily forget the threat they posed. But she knew better than to forget, despite his instructiveness. What lives can die and Pho would find a way to make it so, even if he had to shave his perfect head to do it. "You'd be better off if you didn't."

A sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Look, I really hate to cut this short but I _really_ have to go. I promise to think of something we can do about your situation though."

"No stress, I'm just being a baby. Just bring me a bottle of fine whiskey when you fly over tonight. That should keep me entertained enough."

"Uh... I can't tonight. I have a thing."

"A thing?"

"Business. The team and I are meeting over dinner to discuss some new prospects. There'll be drinks after and only Kami knows when the thing will end. Sorry, should have told you last night."

"I see," her knuckles blanched as her grip tightened on the phone. "Don't worry about me, I've got tons of sand particles to count while you're out wining and dining Ms. Talia. Have fun with your _team._" She hung up.

* * *

><p>She hated surprises... she hated them with the strength of a thousand suns that blistered her skin into shreds and revealed every single hating fibre of her hating flesh underneath. And no, that <em>wasn't <em>being dramatic. Not after he'd ditched her for that work 'thing' yesterday. She could just see the 'thing', too, all voluptuous and perfect leaning over the dinner table. _Oh, Gohan, you're so interesting! Please, tell me more!_ Slut...

And where _were_ they, anyway? They'd landed on sand again, crunching and giving in as expected with every blind step she'd take and assuming they hadn't flown around in circles for awhile only to touch down at the same miserable little island, they were on some other beach nearby, just as sandy and oceany and constrictive as the last one. So why did he insist on covering her eyes with his hands? Like she couldn't be trusted not to peek... pitch black as every other night around here what would she be able to see anyway? Did this particular beach _not _have dirty old men and annoying dwarfs? How quaint.

"Almost there," Gohan jingled as if on cue.

"Did I forget to mention how I _hate _surprises?" she vented in sarcasm.

"No, you've mentioned it," he cheeked. "Repeatedly."

"And still here we are."

"I'm _trying _to be romantic."

"By bringing me to a secluded location in the middle of the night where nobody can hear me. Classic friendly-rapist material," Videl mocked.

His hands flew from her face to grip at her shoulders and all of a sudden he was in front of her. "Don't even say that! I... I'd never..." he stuttered.

How priceless was that frown, desperately begging for her trust in his intentions? It served him right! Maybe next time he'd think twice before choosing Big Tits over _her_! She relished on the scrunch in between his eyebrows, impeccably traced by the dim light of the nearby... candles? Dozens of them, scattered all around the tiny private cove he'd brought them to and casting their trembling incandescences on its stony terracotta walls. Her mouth gaped absentmindedly.

"Surprise," Gohan uttered in a sigh and his dejected tone managed to peel her incredulous eyes from the wide blanket and wicker basket at their feet. Did he go to all this trouble... for her? "Why?" she whispered to herself.

"I know you hate being trapped in that island," he explained, "and since we never had a proper date before..."

She didn't _hate_ it... it was painfully tedious but it was starting to grow on her. The heat was a little uncomfortable but it could be worse, and she was mentally trying to coerce herself into treating the whole thing like the overdue vacation she never had or missed, before. But a 'proper date'... yeah, he was right about _that_. "You normally _ask_ a girl if she wants to go on a date."

"I didn't want you to say 'no'," he confessed, looking away.

'No'? Wouldn't it be sacrilegious - a hideous freak like her, to spit in the face of Lady Luck like that? A date with a gorgeous man was a scarce fortune in her life all in itself, but with _this_ particular man... maybe in her previous life she'd have discarded it as too good to be true, but not anymore. Not with him.

Did she put that sadness in his eyes? Unacceptable. "What's in the basket?" she asked, kneeling over the minky soft flannel.

Gohan followed suit and sat by her side, smiling peacefully now - a welcome change. He opened the double-lidded top, taking out two tall stemmed glasses and... "Champagne?" Not what she was expecting, she had to admit.

He brought his free hand to the back of his neck, an averted stare and sheepish chuckle completing the set of a deeply self-conscious individual. "Yeah, I... don't really know what you like, but... I didn't think you were the flowers and chocolate type of girl," he explained, carefully, wishfully daring a peek to study her reaction.

She definitely wasn't _that_ type of girl - although now she was craving for some chocolate - and an effortless smile worked on erasing the worry lines that his frown was sketching on his face. No other words complemented the rumbling surf or the champagne's chime as it slowly filled the flutes in Gohan's hand.

This _was_ romantic - she had to give him _that_ - but... that was exactly it. Sex was one thing, it served a purpose, it eased the itch, but romance had never been something worthy of her. Or maybe it was the other way around... Either way, it was getting really evident, really fast that being on the receiving end of such affectionate gestures was also not in conformity with the "type of girl" she was. Loving something didn't automatically make it comfortable, apparently.

"So," Videl began, retreating to her go-to defense mode for these kind of situations, "you bring all your dates here or just the ones you're hiding in a secluded beach house?"

His eyes widened minutely and she was mostly certain he'd blushed under the deep tone of amber that enveloped his pale complexion. "No! I mean... there aren't... I-I don't..."

"Oh, come on. How many honeys have you gotten to scream your name on this very blanket, over the years?" she teased, brushing the soft flannel with the palm of her hand while trying to resist a laughing fit. "I trust that you've at least washed it?"

He didn't respond. No stuttering, no trembling or nervous excuses. Anything but a dry swallow and an almost gloomy... embarrassment? Why embarrassment? Had he _not_ actually washed it, because goddammit, she'd touched the filthy thing!

Wait... no, it couldn't. There was no way. Videl's smile faded to black when all in him confirmed what she refused to believe. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "You're a virgin."

"W-Why do you say it like that?"

_Why_? Rich, hot, _and_ sweet? She snorted. "Because if my life had turned out differently I would have tried to jump in your pants the _minute _it became legal to do so," she half-joked.

"R-Really?"

"Don't you get all prude on me! You can't _not_ know how hot you are."

She blanched. Had she actually blurted that out? Quickly, she looked away into the dark ocean in front, concentrating on the shimmering specks of light from the nearest populated island, lost somewhere deep in the horizon. "I mean... you're... kinda cute, is all."

"You're kinda cute, too," she heard him say after a while. Yeah, right. She didn't need the pity, thank you very much.

Suddenly, a foghorn was heard from afar, shouting once and for but a few seconds, only to be replaced with very faint cheers that the wind brought gliding over the peaceful ocean surface. "What was that?" she asked, not expecting touches of civilization to reach them in the middle of nowhere.

"The Moon festival," Gohan responded with a knowing smile. "It's a harvest celebration on a little village nearby. They do it every year to bless the crops." He handed her a glass of champagne, which she unconsciously took.

"Oh?"

"It's also kind of a celebration of life, so," he shrugged, "I think it's appropriate." He raised his glass, requesting a touch of hers. "To new beginnings."

Videl would smile at the corniness of his words but instead she ate them up as gospel. They made her happy for their truthfulness and so she clinked to the toast, taking a sip at the delicious bubbly - expensive stuff, no doubt.

"But shouldn't we be _there_," she tilted her chin at the village's general location, "if we wanted to enjoy the party?" Not that they should and she was glad he didn't forget again how a massive security misstep that would be for someone in hiding.

"Nah..." Gohan dismissed, shifting his position to lay back on his elbows. She did the same. "It's much better from over here." His proud smirk confused her but a distinctive hiss echoed all across the natural walls surrounding them and cleared her mind from further doubts - or anything else, for that matter.

The clear dark sky beamed in a thousand different colors with every thunderclap and every roar of light that was shot from the distant island. Fireworks... how long had it been since she'd seen those?

"You're supposed to make a wish," he offered quietly. Corny again, yes, but how could she resist a single kernel of it? Two seconds were spared and he slowly leaned in for a kiss that she willingly took, guiding his body down with hers until her head rested on the blanket beneath them.

"Was this what you wished for?" he asked suggestively in between pecks.

"Take a wild guess," was her answer, short and quick just to appease him into continuing what he'd started. It actually was, in a way, but... since their phone call yesterday, there was but one true wish in her dirty, dirty mind.

Those Bull Masters' outfits... she could just imagine what such a garment would do to his glorious ass.

* * *

><p>Ok, so... a tiny holding cell at Capsule Corp., a tiny house on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, and now a tiny hover car at the edge of a dark forest next to a paved road. Why did Gohan taunt her with fireworks at romantic locations or bullfighters and royal parties just to end up stuffing her into a decrepit tin can like this one? He'd <em>better <em>not think this counted as a second date!

The damn car she was sitting in had seen better days about twenty years ago if the rust on it was any indication. Gohan sat next to her on the wide seat, gazing at the road patiently. Apparently, he had borrowed this rust bucket from some friend - her money was on the Bulma woman - and assured her that it would not run. What was the point in even having a car that didn't run, anyway? Just when she thought she had a grasp on who these people were, they just had to do something nonsensical.

"What are we doing here?" Videl grumbled as she sank into the ripped car seat, her arms crossing over her chest.

"You're bored," Gohan replied simply, still staring at the road. "This is just another opportunity to relieve that."

"Sitting in a busted up car in the middle of nowhere is _not _an improvement," the dark-haired woman retorted snidely. "I swear, if you even _think _this would count as a date with _any_ girl, then I can totally get how you're still a virgin." She paused for a moment. "Please don't tell me you've actually tried getting lucky doing this."

A furious blush covered the youth's face as he jerked his head to face her. "Wha... No! I haven't done that!"

Videl shifted in her seat as she tried to get comfortable. "Good, because if you had, you'd be striking out once again. I don't get dirty in the backseat."

"No one's doing _anything _in the backseat!" Gohan exclaimed embarrassed. "That's not what we're here for!"

"Then what _are_ we doing here?"

Almost as if to answer her question, a flight appeared far down the road. Immediately looking at it, Gohan let out a sigh of relief and said, "We were waiting for those trucks."

Videl stared at the trucks, unmovingly. "And what's so special about trucks?"

"Those trucks are carrying a payload of weapons," Gohan explained. "Guns, bombs, stuff like that. In one of them is a small case of uranium that they're transporting to an enrichment factory. We're going to stop those trucks and destroy the cargo."

This time, the young woman blinked her eyes owlishly. "We? You mean you want me to help?"

Gohan shrugged his shoulders, though his face was bemused. "You said you were bored."

Videl slapped his shoulder in annoyance. "Don't be annoying. So how do we do this?"

"There's three trucks from what I can tell. I'll take down two of them and you can take the last one."

"Great, so how do I do that? You have a gun for me or something?"

Immediately, the dark-haired young man's face went stern. "There will be _no _killing. No one dies tonight, understand?"

Videl looked flabbergasted at that. What was the point in having her help if he was gonna make her do this unarmed? She was willing to do dangerous stuff, but doing it stupidly was not her thing. "Then how am I supposed to stop a freaking truck? Not all of us can rip trees out of ground, ya know! The guys in those trucks _will_ have guns and they won't be trying not to kill me just because I'm not armed!"

At this, Gohan reached beneath the car seat and pulled out a taser, handing the device to her. "You can use this. Do what you have to do, but no killing."

Holding the taser, Videl stared at is blandly. "You've _got _to be kidding me."

"C'mon, they're almost here," Gohan said as he climbed out of the hover car. The moment he stood on the ground, a golden glow began to envelop his body before it roared. Instantly, the young man's hair went blond as his eyes turned teal. His body seemed to bulk up too, much to Videl's surprise.

For several moments, Videl just stared at the golden alien. It wasn't until Gohan glanced at her and spoke that she was taken out of her daze. "Hey, the trucks are almost here. You might want to get out of the car."

Immediately, the dark-haired woman scrambled out of the car, gripping onto the taser tightly. She wasn't too sure how she was going to stop a truck, but she got the feeling Gohan didn't care unless someone died. While she couldn't guarantee anything, she really hoped that any possible body wasn't hers.

And then the trucks arrived. They were moving at a pretty generous pace, the roaring of their engines indicating they were speeding up. In an instant, Videl felt Gohan's presence disappear from her side, causing her to jerk her head to stare at the vacant spot he used to be. Wildly, she searched for the golden alien, quickly finding him standing on the road mere feet from the hood of the first truck.

Oh, this was _not _going to end well.

There was no time for the driver to steer out of the way. The feet between the vehicle and Gohan closed within seconds. However, that proved to be enough time for the young man as he threw a fist into the front of the truck. A loud booming sound echoed throughout the area as the truck came to an immediate halt, the back of the canopied truck lifting right off the ground as momentum tried to keep it moving. Without hesitating, Gohan leaned down and grabbed the bottom of the truck's grill with his other hand. Just like that, he lifted the truck off the road, twisted his body around and swung the vehicle over his head and threw it. Everything seemed to slow down as Videl watched the truck sailing through the air until he landed on its top with a loud bang, skidding on the ground until it came to a stop.

A squealing of wheels jerked Videl out of her trance. Looking back to Gohan, she saw the second truck running off the road to avoid the young giant tires were tearing up the grass that lined the side of the road. Instantly, Videl raced towards it, facing it head on. She was cutting it close, but... she had to take this chance. With a yell, she leapt, body slamming into the door - hard.

Her outstretched hand founds its target, the door handle, and snagged it. The rough contact with the metal singed her palms, her body jerking around from the the truck plowing through rough terrain, but she held onto it for dear life. Good thing too, because the driver made a sharp turn, and very noisily, the truck veered back into the road.

Gritting her teeth, Videl pulled herself up, surprisingly one-handed. Fortunately, there was a metal step underneath the cab. She stepped on it, pulling out Gohan's pitiful taser gun. Shoving it into her waistband, she braced her hand on the side of the truck and with one swift motion, she ripped the door open.

The first thing she saw was two men, one driving the truck and the other in the passenger seat staring at her. Why the passenger was staring was a mystery she had no desire to solve, especially since she'd just noticed something far more interesting. Seemed the duo were not into wearing their seat belts.

How convenient of them.

As she balanced herself with her feet on the metal step and her hand on the door, she brought her other hand and grabbed onto the frame of the vehicle. Releasing her grip on the door, she slugged the passenger in the face, making the man cry out from the blow. Grabbing onto his shirt collar, she pulled with all her might, forcing the man out of the seat and falling out of the truck.

The man let out another cry before he hit the ground like a skipping rock, rolling over himself repeatedly. Videl didn't pay much more attention to him as she pulled herself into the cab. Unfortunately, the driver seemed to be more alert than his partner was because he was scrambling to pull out his gun from his holster.

Pulling out her taser, she immediately switched it on and forced the electrified mouth against the man, delivering several volts of electricity that stunned him. The shock caused him to convulse and jerk on the wheel, sending the truck towards the other side of the road.

Lunging, Videl grabbed the wheel and steadied it. She then began slowly turning the truck back towards her. Had she immediately jerked the wheel, there was no doubt in her mind that she would've overcorrected and sent the vehicle flipping over itself. Once she was sure they were stable, she used her other hand to shift the gear into neutral and let physics slow the truck down.

It took awhile, longer than Videl would have liked, but she didn't want to bother shoving the driver out of her way, not when she could accidentally send the truck into a tree. But eventually the truck did come to a stop. Now she could-

A knock on the driver's window caused Videl to jolt in her seat. Staring at the window, she saw the golden glow of Gohan as he seemed to hover in front of the glass. Grumbling to herself, Videl reached over the unconscious driver and rolled down the window. The young man greeted her with a smile. "You went pretty far," he commented.

"Not all of us can flip trucks over our shoulders," the young woman shot back with annoyance in her voice.

"Mind if I give you a lift back?"

_What the heck does that..._ Videl began to think when Gohan dropped down and the truck began to lurch around. "Don't tell me he's picking up the damn thing," she exclaimed.

As the view outside the windshield rose up and turned around, Videl knew her 'partner' was carrying the truck back to their attack point. Glancing to her side, she saw the door was still open, something she immediately rectified by slamming it shut. It didn't take too long before they began to land.

Taking in the scene, Videl eyed the second truck that Gohan had stopped. The cab was caved in from the roof, or at least she thought it was. The grill had rammed right into the first truck and was currently stuck in it. The young woman couldn't help raising an eyebrow at this. The guy had said not to kill anyone, right? Then why did his trucks look like they were on the losing end of a wrecking ball? There were bad auto accidents and then there was this.

Once the truck touched the ground, Videl climbed out of the cab and circled the vehicle until she stood next to Gohan. At the moment, he was just admiring their handiwork. A rookie move in the assassin's book and she let him know as much. "We're not done here, you know. We still need to destroy the cargo."

"I've already got the guys out of their trucks, except for yours," Gohan replied, still looking at the scene. "It shouldn't take too long."

The young man's languishing response didn't sit all that well with Videl and she was about to let him know just what she thought about his words. However, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared, leaving her alone for a few minutes before reappearing. "There, we just have to blow it all up now."

Videl could feel a vein pulsing on her forehead as her frustration began to build. She had always been serious about her work. Everything had to be perfect. Being partnered with a happy-go-lucky guy had always been a pain for her and this was no exception. "Where did you put them?" she growled out.

"They're down the road, out of the blast radius," he answered before turning to a side. Raising a hand, he extended two fingers and let the tips begin to glow. A beam of light fired from the fingers and hit the ground. He then began creating a thin trench as he began to move his arm.

Videl instantly grabbed his hand and glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded heatedly.

Gohan blinked at her. "Leaving the DB mark."

"Don't do that," she reprimanded as she shoved his hand down. "They don't need anymore of those to know you're behind this. Let's just destroy the cargo and get out of here."

Gohan stared at her for a moment before sighing and said, "Alright, hang on."

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her to his body, to which she automatically placed her arms around his neck. A moment later he lifted them off the ground and high into the sky.

"Did you get that car of yours," she asked as they hovered over the wreckage of the trucks.

"Yep, it's back in its capsule," the young man answered. "Now, it's time for the fireworks."

When Gohan aimed his free hand at the vehicles beneath them, it didn't take long for Videl to figure out just what those fireworks would be. His hand glowed brightly before that frightening beam of light fired from his palm and collided with the wrecks of metal below. A ball of fire erupted a second later, rising high into the air, almost as if to burn them both, though it couldn't quite reach.

_The room was covered in fire. The steel beam seared her face as the heat of the room boiled her alive. Across the floor, a flowing river of flames, creeping up to her until it hungrily attacked her legs. Oh lord, her legs were burning! Burning!_

The image assaulted Videl's head, causing her to flinch. Since she was being held though, the abrupt action made her cling harder onto Gohan, who seemed to stiffen as a result. Faintly, she heard him ask her something. She wasn't sure what since his voice seemed to be so far away, but she knew him, more or less. He wanted to know what was wrong.

The only thing she could do was whimper, her eyes shut tightly as she buried her face into the young man's chest. She could feel the heat of the explosion on the soles of her feet and it was firing off alarms in her head. So focused on that feeling, she didn't even recognize the cool breeze that flowed through her head, or touched her skin. She opened her eyes when the hot feeling disappeared and found the landscape beneath her a blur. Gohan - he was flying them away from there. How considerate.

The young woman kept quiet for the entire flight. Overwhelming fear did that to a person. It wasn't until the smell of salt filled her nose that she figured out they were over the ocean. In no time at all, they were back at the island, their feet standing on the soft sand.

And yet, Videl didn't release her hold on the young man and he on her. He was comforting to her, something she hadn't felt in a long, long time. Still, this wasn't doing anything for her tough-girl image.

"Thanks," she tried to say gruffly, but it came out soft and meek. Coughing, she tried again. "That was everything, right?"

"Yeah," Gohan answered young woman could feel his eyes boring into her and it made her slightly uncomfortable. "Um, sorry about that. I didn't think-"

"Don't worry about it," she immediately interjected. "I'm already over it." At this, she finally moved her face away from his chest and looked up at him. His blond hair and teal eyes had reverted back to the familiar dark colors sometime during their flight. Bad memories aside, she didn't mind their current position.

Gohan looked as if he wanted to say something, but apparently his brain didn't come up with anything for him. That was alright with Videl, she liked the current silence better. Everything felt right, like nothing could go wrong. Words would have spoiled the moment and she really didn't want that to happen.

So to make sure that neither of them did that, she rose onto her toes, using her arms to pull the young man's head down. She guaranteed their silence as her lips met his.

* * *

><p>The mid-morning sun filtered through the drawn curtains like a bleached rainbow. So far, five days had passed calmly and without incident, so she was confident that Pho and the agency were still unaware of her whereabouts or fate.<p>

She turned her back to the sun, the harmless streaks falling gently on the flimsy fabric of her T-shirt; she usually hated the sun, or anything else that touched her skin with heat, but somehow, this morning, she reveled in the warmth. Blue eyes refocused on the news article showing on the small computer screen before her. With a pained expression, her gaze zoned in on the empty expressions of the two blonds clutching at each other supportively in one of the 'Videl Satan funeral' photographs.

Gohan was wrong - some things were just... unforgivable.

She sighed, forcing herself to put the articles away. Why was she even bothering with them? They only scraped at her scars, gouging up old wounds. Nothing but a painful and pointless exercise - it was a little too late for regrets. And yet... the _her_ now, the _her_ born from these past few days spent in this tiny little house - _that_ Videl, couldn't help but have _wants._

She wanted everything she knew she didn't deserve. Everything she'd thrown away all those years ago: a normal life with her father, with her ex-friends and hopefully some kind of future with Gohan. Granted, it had only been a week since their so called "relationship" had began, but... in their short time together they had borne their very souls to each other. They had dissected each other's lives exhaustively - the good, the bad, and the ugly so much that she wondered if there was to be any mystery left in their future. She still held _some_ secrets of course - like the unbridled desire to wrap her hands around Pho's neck until all the life was drained from his body or... the frightening feelings that swelled in her heart for this half-alien creature that was as good and as gentle as the memory of her mother's face.

A big part of her was still hesitant and afraid... why did a guy like that like _her?_

She turned to the tousled bed where he lay sprawled on his stomach, pink covers thrown lazily across the small of his back. She bit her lip. This emotional turmoil, these wants... all of this melancholy was partly _his_ doing after all. It was true that allowing yourself to care about one thing had the unfortunate consequence of opening you up to the dangers of caring about _everything_.

And it was true that she was starting to care - perhaps a little _too_ much. With each passing day, each smile, each laugh, each touch... she was starting to relax, and care, and all manner of other things her training had warned her against. If Pho could see his precious Jawbreaker now, not even a truck load worth of exquisitely hand-crafted shoes of glove-soft goat skin would be enough to quell his disgust. But Pho and his carefully crafted world of lies and murder was her past, and this... this man in her borrowed bed was her future. Well... maybe...

She gave up on her reading and climbed back into bed. It was such a tight squeeze really, not that she minded. She curled herself around him, draping her arm over the small of his back and sighed. He was so warm, the perfect electric blanket - not that she needed one of those in this island heat.

A minute passed, then two, then three and... she couldn't get back to sleep. She squirmed, adjusting her position so she was higher up, where she could peer down at his face. With a propped elbow and a hand cupping her chin, she stared. Then a frown began to form at the corners of her mouth.

How could he sleep so soundly with someone squirming around like this? No way her training would allow her to be so peaceful! Smirking, she leaned over just a little and blew a small gust of warm breath at the lone coil of hair half-smiling against his forehead. Then she pulled back and stared, again. One, two, three seconds and he still didn't stir. Only the heat pouring from his body, and the quiet wisps of air expelled at regular intervals from his nose gave any signs of life.

_You're kidding me! Do these aliens die when they sleep? _

She squirmed a little more, shifting first the position of her legs, then her head, her arms and then ugh... she settled back to staring.

It occurred to her that she'd watched him like this before, many, many a time tucked away in some ghost of an apartment from the other side of a flickering monitor, plotting and wishing for his death. How things change... But the cameras had never allowed her this; had never allowed her to feel this warm intimacy floating around her veins. Not even while watching his solo moments of 'self-intimacy'. She bit her lip, a furious blush creeping across her face. Justify it as she might, she knew very well that she'd gone beyond the call of duty on those particular nights. She'd been spurred on by sheer feminine curiosity and perhaps a small touch of something else...

Now, her eyes were drawn by everything. From the minute twitches of his eyelids to the slight fibrillations of his sharp perfect nose. Sighing, she brushed her knuckles down his jaw, marvelling at how baby-soft his skin was. And then she was tracing her fingertips along the thin lines of his lips. She loved those lips. Firm and soft and so, so creative.

Languidly, his hand came rushing up to swat the nuisance away and hers recoiled instinctively, blue eyes widening as if she'd been caught breaking the rules. The breath she was about to release froze with the rest of her body since any subliminal noise would be certainly more than enough to wake him all the way up. She couldn't have that - so much left unexplored...

He rubbed his face lazily and all-over, muffling mumbled words that were just too incoherently precious to curb a grin. His amazing eyes were still closed shut, witnessing colorful dreams instead of reality and so she ventured a hand at his dark tresses, indulging in their softness as they slid between her fingers. "You're so damn cute," she whispered to herself.

"I'm not cute. I'm adorable," he whispered back with a proud smile that she knew came from taking a confession that wasn't meant for his ears. She'd be mad at him... but he was smiling.

Gohan opened his playful eyes and she diverted all of her might into loosening the muscles at her cheeks, trying desperately to keep at least _that_ satisfaction from him but to no avail, a girlish shriek only adding insult to injury when he executed a surprise attack and reached over to bring her down to the mattress, pinning her beneath his weight.

His bare chest was hard but soft at the same time, grinding at her insides and making her heart sing louder above all other sounds. His natural fragrance bathed in the surrounding ocean; the most beautiful sight greeted her in those dark pools at his eyes... all of her senses were accounted for except that other one, but he was quick to claim it for himself too - soft and sweet and perfect.

Her hands circled up and gripped at his broad shoulders for a moment before sliding down his chiseled back, mapping every valley and mountain at the incredibly slow pace of a sightseer enjoying the ride. The barrier of his underwear would mark the end of the road but her adventurous fingertips slid on a whim just the tiniest under the elastic waistband, little daredevils in no man's land, tracing it carelessly back and forth.

A patch of satin got her curiosity as she brushed by a couple of times - scar-tissue, maybe - and the way every ministration contracted a random muscle all across his body won it her undivided attention. She rubbed it harder and he broke their kiss with a groan.

See? She could smile proudly too. "Sensitive is it?"

Those slitted eyes were uncommon elements on his roll of facial expressions but that might just have been the cause of the extra fire below her navel. "Pretty much, yeah," he said, adding a sexy smirk to the equation that was daring her to do it again.

"Delightful," she gloated with a pleased, deep tone just before lunging up and bringing him back down with a passionate bite at his lower lip. Videl could feel him smile through their kisses and it was yet another thing that was intensifying the desire, urging the need.

Suddenly he pulled back again, horrified. "What time is it?"

Videl stared at him, blinking in shock by the gear shift. "I... I don't know."

He was off the bed in an instant, clothes lying all over the floor now flying randomly into the air as he tried to franticly tell what was what, putting on the right ones and discarding of the wrong. She'd find his stumbling hilarious if the shivering cold of his absence wasn't dimming the mood. She sat up against the headboard. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm late," Gohan responded without a look, searching for the shoe that paired with the one on his hand. It was under the little girl's desk. He'd find it eventually.

"Late for w-... oh," Videl started but quickly remembered him mentioning his grandfather's birthday a few days ago. How could she forget those bullfighter outfits...

The bed shifted and complained under his weight as he sat down to tie his blue sneakers. "I'm sorry," he continued. "I hate to bolt out like this but I need to-"

"Need to go," Videl interrupted calmly. "Don't worry about it, just... have fun."

Gohan let go of his anxious rushing and scooted closer. His eyes locked on hers and his warm hand cupped her cheek, brushing it with his thumb. "I_ was_," he said. "This is just a party."

He smiled and kissed her very gently, getting up towards the door right after. Damn him with his perfect answers... now he'd made her miss him already.

"I'll bring you some cake," he added happily with that amazing grin, just before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Perfect answers _and_ cake...

Damn him...


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter is brought to you by Boboleta and ShadowMajin**

The relaxing sound of violins and cellos filled the air. People filled out the royal plaza, animately talking, laughing, and eating to their hearts content. Royalty and politicians kept to themselves as the commoners took their own side of the place, each fulfilling their own ideas of a good time.

Tables and chairs were strategically placed all over to provide places for the party-goers to sit down and eat. Longer, food-laden tables were not too far away either where lines of people waited to fill their plates. Servants were dashing all over the place, replenishing empty trays with the kitchen's latest creations. Others were mingling with the party-goers, carrying trays with drinks and appetizers.

And at the center of this scene was Chichi, giving out orders to the staff to ensure this party was one for the ages. "You, replace that shrimp platter, it's almost empty. I need more cheeses, the brie, not the stilton this time. How is the cake coming along? Is that baker done with it yet? He's not? Then tell him to hurry his lazy ass up!"

Checking the watch that was fastened around her wrist, she noted the time. "Okay, the song is about to end and that means the fireworks should be going off in five… four… three…"

As she trailed off, the music softly ended, and was promptly followed by the shrill screams as small rockets flew up into the sky. Explosions erupted, sending brightly shining flames everywhere in various shades of red, green, and purple. The crowd _oohed_ and _awed_ at the spectacle, a light clapping occurring shortly thereafter.

Staring up at the show for a moment, Chichi allowed herself that moment's respite before she was giving out more orders. "Alright, it's time to stop bringing out the Grenache and begin serving the Chenin Blanc. All servers back to the kitchen! How's the main courses coming along? Already on the fire? Good."

A loud, deep laugh echoed over the din of the party, causing Chichi to stop and turn. She found Papa surrounded by various officials and members of his court, everyone laughing at some joke that had been made. Once more, the Ox Princess paused as she watched her father. He was having a good time right? Of course he was, he was laughing! So far, everything was going off without a hitch. With renewed vigor, she turned to begin issuing another set of orders when she caught sight of Goten lounging at a nearby table.

That made her frown. A young man should never slouch while sitting, especially in a suit. And yet, that's what her youngest son was doing as he casually observed the party. Approaching him as her silky dress rustled against her, she came to a stop next to the young man and crossed her arms over her chest. "And what do you think you're doing?"

Goten lazily tilted his head towards her before he shot up in his chair, straightening out his posture as his hands went to smooth down his wrinkled dress shirt. "Hey Mom, how's it going?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Making sure the servants are performing their duties adequately, seeing that certain young men are adhering to proper etiquette."

Goten winced at that. "Don't worry, I am," he mumbled.

Chichi reached down and began straightening out his tie. "You're a handsome boy, Goten. Don't go ruining that by looking like a delinquent. Now, have you visited the Cultural Attache from the Bull Country?"

Her younger son began to roll his eyes, but stopped, thinking better of it. "I have. He wouldn't stop talking about his new wife."

"Did he give you any tips?" the Ox Princess pressed as she began pulling on the sleeves of his jacket, pulling out any wrinkles she could.

"Only how to pick up girls a third my age. I'm really considering his words."

Chichi stopped her fussing. "Goten, just ignore everything he said."

A small smile worked its way onto the boy's lips. "Okay, Mom."

Well, that hadn't gone the way she wanted. Though he wasn't as shy as her older son, Goten did have a little trouble keeping girlfriends. She had hoped a newly married man would help the boy in that department, but she hadn't known who the diplomat had married—a mistake on her part.

Deciding to change the subject, Chichi glanced around the party in search of her other son, once more frowning when she didn't see him. "Where's your brother, Goten?"

Goten shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Last I heard he was on his way. He called me not too long ago and said he was running a little late. He should be here soon."

Now, if Chichi wasn't thrilled about poor posture, she definitely did not tolerate tardiness. Gohan should have been here the moment the party started—in fact before it. She had hammered that point into both of her childrens' heads, but apparently it hadn't taken with one of them. She wasn't sure how that happened unless… oh no, it couldn't be! Was one of her well-mannered children a… a… delinquent?! Oh woe was her! Where did she go wrong?!

Reaching to the clutch bag that was firmly gripped beneath her arm, she reached into it and began rubbing her hand against the hard, round surface of the dragonball she kept there. Yes, Goku would calm her down, he always did.

That still wasn't going to stop the lecture she had ready for when Gohan finally showed up.

* * *

><p>Bed linens. Off-season clothes. More bed linens… how fun. Then again, what was she really expecting; old treasure maps and S&amp;M gear?<p>

Videl sighed, deciding that maybe going through the cupboards and closets of the tiny house was not the most brilliant idea she'd ever had to pass the time. Goddammit, how boring could a person be?

She was actually starting to wish for the old man's harassment or the midget's nervous attempts to strike up a conversation. They'd all left, apparently, right after Gohan, abandoning her to fend for herself around here. She assumed, at least; not that she'd actually gone looking for them.

Forcefully, she produced the umpteenth deep breath of the morning—simply because it was something to do—and strolled lazily around the completely vacant upstairs, the warm breeze of yet another summery morning bringing in that distinctive ocean aroma that made her smile affectionately. It was the smell of their first real date—just the other day—and it was working on reminding her of every lingering minute she had to wait until their next one. And the next one, and the next...

Her wandering brought her down the stairs, slowly, as she took the time to inspect every single picture on the walls—mostly the little girl's but also some very old ones. She recognized both the small man and the old master, but also the blue-haired young woman, who _had _to be Bulma Briefs. No one else sparked a memory, but that other man was so very familiar: the spiky dark hair, his eyes... Gohan's father, she was mostly certain, and the overall age differences seemed to fit the bill.

Now she was curious _and _bored, worsening the damn itch that was prickling at her skin. Her legs walked for her and directed her path through the living room and into the kitchen. Maybe they'd have some booze around here. Beer at least, the blonde woman had offered her one the other day.

_'__Please have beer...__'_

The fridge's door was thrown open, and she crouched to thoroughly canvass its interior for the precious liquid. Vegetables, some fruit, orange juice—no sugar added... She snorted, damn health freaks, bah!

"Can I help you?"

_'__Shit!__'_Videl's head shot back over her shoulder. "Could you please _not_ sneak up on me like that?" she growled at the blonde.

"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of assassin."

The words she didn't say were the ones that stung her ego the most, because in the back of her mind, Videl knew that the woman was absolutely right. What kind of trained hit-woman was she if Mrs. Blondie Housewife here could just catch her off-guard like this? This would never have happened before - ever! She'd be aware of her surroundings down to the damn fly on the wall, or the gravity shift in the room. It was the woman's fault! Did she glide instead of walk around?

Strangely, after that insultuous jab at her pride, she found all of it to be extremely... irrelevant. Killing had never been something she loved—more what she was programed to execute—so the fact that she was losing "the touch" was a good thing in the overall view of this new life that was happening for her. If no other soul would perish at her murderous grip, no more notches on her belt for as long as she should live—apart from Pho; she'd make an exception for _him_—she'd be okay with it, and peace would come eventually.

She was starting to change. How lucky was she? Not everybody got a _third _chance at life.

That wishful smile crept at her lips, the one that came with the warm feeling she was starting to feel more often than not. Gohan came to mind again... How lucky indeed. "I thought nobody was home," Videl stated, much calmer, standing up and slowly closing the appliance's door.

"I was on the roof," Eighteen offered as she walked closer and reopened the fridge. Videl stepped aside.

"On the roof?"

"Yes."

Videl repeated the question silently via confused frown while the other stepped away to lean against the marbled counter, water bottle in hand. She noticed how the blonde's skin was lightly reddened so she was probably sunbathing up there, but why the roof?

"The old man stares."

_'__Of course he does...__'_

"We're out of beer," Eighteen continued, unfazed, correctly answering Videl's other unasked question.

Videl didn't even try to suppress the disgust on her offended lips, looking around aimlessly for something else that could make her forget how miserably bored she was. If only she was a gorgeous blonde too, just another specimen of those obnoxious bimbos that religiously kept their tans as the most interesting thing about them—which it probably was—then maybe she could just follow the woman's example and climb onto the roof to roast all day under the Sun. Videl shook her head slightly as she realised that wasn't fair. This particular blonde didn't seem like a bimbo. And neither was Erasa...

"How can you live in the middle of nowhere, like this?" Videl quietly asked with just a pinch of exasperation showing through. "Don't you miss your friends?"

"Why would I miss them?"

"Gee, I don't know, because you live miles away from any civilization!" she retorted in a flash. "What if they want to come visit you or something?"

"They can fly here," Eighteen deadpanned with that annoying tone of hers—the only one she ever used. Ever.

"Can _all_ of your friends fly?"

"Yes."

"Why? Don't you have normal friends, too?" If regret could kill you, this time it just stung all over. Was she ever this rude? _And _a hypocrite! How many friends did _she _have, let alone "normal" ones. The blonde didn't seem to be affected, though.

"I'm not normal, why should I have normal friends?"

Videl just stared back at her, mostly in awe at the oblivious wisdom that she'd just produced. She didn't know this woman—her background, her story—but that laconic view of the world was impressive to say the least. Simple logic, untarnished by the arrogance or overly-sensitive wishfulness that normally came with "being human". After a while, she just smiled.

"I assume you miss _your_ friends," Eighteen stated in the form of a question that caught the younger woman by surprise, instinctively—as per training—making her retrace all of her previous words for the slip of tongue that'd given it away.

"H-How did you…?"

"You brought it up," the blonde responded, clarifying when Videl didn't wipe the confusion off her face, "friends."

True, but how damn perceptive could a person be? Her expression couldn't show how much she missed Erasa's gossiping and never-ending energy, her body language wouldn't be able to tell how she longed for Sharpner's harmless teasing and boyish remarks. The pang in her heart couldn't be _that_ evident. "I don't have friends anymore," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" the blonde inquired, sipping at her bottle.

"I... threw them away." Like garbage.

"You've discarded all of them?"

"I didn't _kill_ them, if that's what you're implying!" She'd never do that! Even if Pho had assigned it as a mission... right?

"Then they're still your friends."

Videl crossed her arms under her chest and looked away. "Their friends with Videl Satan."

"That's you."

A pause. "It's not that simple."

"They're friends with Videl Satan. You're Videl Satan. It seems pretty simple to me," Eighteen insisted, the same attribute of her impassive personality losing all its earlier appeal. It was rubbing on frustrating, now. They loved Videl Satan, the Saviour's daughter, the crime fighting heroine. They loved the girl she was, not the woman she became. After all she'd done though, who could blame them?

"I don't deserve them."

Silence again, the soft rumble of the ocean returning to fill in the void that took the room. There was nothing the woman could say to make her believe otherwise, but at the same time, Videl kind of wished she'd try. Words of comfort were estranged companions, long lost in time like her other life, but maybe they could help to ease the doubt—and God knew how she was doubting herself. Eighteen threw the empty plastic bottle away and walked over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Videl asked, confused. They were having a damn conversation!

"Anywhere. I don't like self-pity and despondence."

"I don't _pity_ myself!" her ego shouted for her in defense of its honor.

"You do. It's a shame, I thought you were one of us."

"What do you mean 'one of us'?"

The other woman stared back again, cold blue and self-righteous eyes rendering her tiny. "Strong, knowledgeable of life. You look like a scared little girl."

"I _am_ scared," she admitted without thinking it through. "Of the past _and_ of the future." It was the absolute truth, one that her mouth was refusing to keep hidden anymore. "What if he's just toying with me?"

"Who, Gohan?"

"Yes! And what if they hate me for letting them think I was dead?"

"Will your life end?"

Simple words again; the answer was simple too, if one kept it literal. "Well... no, but..."

"Then you move on," the blonde interrupted. "Strong people don't postpone the inevitable. If you choose to avoid your life you might as well be dead."

Another pause. "Maybe I'm just not a strong person."

"Maybe not."

_Maybe not_... It cut like a knife through her buttery gut, and Videl was quick to look away to anywhere but that judgemental line of sight. A stone heart didn't make it a sturdy one apparently, and courage no longer defined her. After a while, she saw the blonde from the corner of her eye, shaking her head from side to side and turning around to resume her way.

"Take me there," Videl said just as the other left the room.

The older woman turned back. "Where?"

* * *

><p>She wasn't entirely sure... Her life was changing once more; she could do anything with it, become <em>anything<em>. Was _this _who she wanted to be? An amorphous mass of a person, spineless and gutless. Evidently, life had become much more terrifying than death. "I have to see them."

Eighteen smirked.

She felt like a tourist. Not because of the inherent relaxation or amazement from the new sights around her, but because of the feeling of displacement, like it'd be obvious to everyone that would spot her that she didn't belong in this place, in this city that was once her home.

Videl walked around the downtown area more or less aimlessly, Eighteen following her moves close by. If she really wanted to go see Sharpner and Erasa, she'd most likely had to go over to their homes, or track them down in whichever jobs they had right now, but every time her feet brought her close to familiar surroundings, her brain shouted for retreat with overwhelming panic and urgency.

Basically, they were going nowhere fast.

But then, suddenly, something caught her eye, brought along to her awareness by the small group of people that headed for the massive crowd gathering on a place she knew all too well, even if she'd only visited once before.

The "Daughter of the City" memorial.

"What's happening there?" Eighteen came over to ask. "A festival?"

"Not sure…" But what else could all those people be doing on a place assigned specifically to the memory of Videl Satan? There was a stage on the far end of the square, she made out, a small man talking behind a podium in some unintelligible mess that they were probably too far away to make out from the staticky speakers. It was a gathering for _her_, for the heroine Videl Satan.

Erasa and Sharpner just _had_ to be there.

Her body hunched absentmindedly as she ventured into the crowd, every cell in her brain assuring her will that no one would lend a second look her way if she only managed to act normally—as tall an order as it might be. She was pretty sure it was common knowledge that dead girls didn't walk around town just like that, so nobody would be expecting to spot her face in their midst.

It didn't help to quench the fire though, the one that was sweating her palms.

The man behind the microphone was the current Mayor, she recognized as she came closer, but all else lost interest when she spotted her two blond friends just by the stairs to the stage. Her chest burst into flames, her stomach queasy and heavy as she tried to swallow her feelings deep down to where they had been pushed to all these years.

Erasa had always been an insufferable crier, but those tears right now were punishing her mercilessly by the obvious heart-wrenching sadness added to them, as was Sharpner's soft yet heavy frown. He stood behind her, enclosing her petite figure within his arms, her back to his chest, while eyeing the ground absently from over her blonde head. They looked just the same and yet so completely different. More refined, in a way, like a proper adult should look, but that contrast was probably coming from the fact that they were still teenagers, in her mind.

Her best friend's cleavage was much more modest and concealed than what was expected of her when they were younger, since Erasa had always been rather keen on employing her "charm"—meaning her breasts—to have her way with the opposite gender, classmates and teachers alike. She seemed to have grown out of it, however.

And then there was Sharpner, the guy who'd wear sleeveless tank-tops in the dead of Winter to show off his "guns"—his word, of course—was now wearing a crisp button-down shirt with rolled-up long sleeves. It _did _strike her as a work attire, but that didn't diminish the fact that the "guns" were holstered in any way; not to mention that "work attire" obviously meant an actual work. And not just any work, a job in which he'd have to wear such a slick getup would probably be an important one, a high-end one. She couldn't help but feel proud at his accomplishment, even though she knew nothing of what it actually entailed.

"Those blond ones?" she heard Eighteen ask from behind her shoulder, sharing in her line of sight.

"Yeah," she told her, softly like hanging on to the words. "Erasa and Sharpner."

"What do you want to do?"

_What indeed…?_ Something in her heart was fast to shout hopelessly, pleading for her to go meet them, talk to them, rekindle whatever they had before that felt so wonderfully familiar and safe. But deep down she knew that it wasn't her real heart talking, making that wish. That other heart belonged to Videl Satan, the girl they knew, the girl she'd been but wasn't anymore.

That past was in the past. Those feelings were nothing but false hopes because she could never have them back, even if she were to reveal herself to her friends, even if they'd forgive her for lying to them and making them live through the loss of a loved one that wasn't actually lost. She'd never be the same girl anymore, so she'd never have those same relationships with those same people, hard as she wished for them.

She was different, but then again… so were they. Could old ties be melted down to be forged anew?

"... Videl Satan..." Her name erupted from the speakers, bringing her attention back to the Mayor and the speech he'd been professing out of her awareness. "... heroine and guardian of our great city, deserves our gratitude and our prayers, not gratuitous vandalism of the statue erected in her honor."

_Vandalism?_ Videl looked over to the imposing figure, its hefty granite base and stairs surrounded on all sides by the same stupid amount of flowers and cards and handcrafted photo collages that had driven her off the edge the last and only time she'd stumbled upon this place. The mementos were all piled up atop each other in a bulging mess that came from the simple fact that they were just too many, too much love, devotion, misplaced adoration towards a person that hadn't just died but simply ceased to exist.

Transformed into a murderer. And a vandal apparently; even if the shrine to her memory had been quickly replenished after being trimmed of its offerings when she'd lost her wits and lashed out at the things, there was no mistaking who all these people were downright scolding with their presence here today.

Scolding Videl Satan for having defaced Videl Satan's memorial. She'd laugh if it wasn't so outrageously ridiculous.

"So, it is with great disappointment," the man continued, "that I say to those responsible, that SatanCity will _not_ stand for…" He trailed off when someone came rushing to his side, interrupting his speech entirely while covering the mike with a hand. A curious buzz grew immediately within the crowd, refusing to let silence settle among them in favor of low, rumbling whispers.

But she wouldn't be drowned in the anticipation just like the rest, because those particular features that were now contorting the Mayor's face became just too explicit, rendering her unable to ignore what training and experience had taught her. That face was tortured. That face was in panic and fear. That face was trying to hide the fact that something bad had happened.

Something really bad.

"What do you think happened?" Eighteen asked.

She could only shake her head from side to side, but whatever it was, they would know about it soon enough. It still made her feel a foreign pressure in her chest.

"I'm sorry but we'll have to interrupt the proceedings," the man almost mumbled while trying to maintain his poise, turning around to walk away before someone yelled out to him. A news reporter standing right by the stage below his feet.

"What happened, Mayor West? We have the right to know!"

The guy stared at the journalist for a moment, before exchanging a few words with group that'd gathered behind him—his assistants, no doubt. Warily, he walked back to the microphone stand, clearing his throat anxiously. "We don't have all the intel on the matter, but… there was an explosion."

_An… explosion?_

The crowd erupted into a flurry of aghast chatter. "What happened? Was it a terrorist attack?" some guy bellowed over the commotion, somewhere from the side.

"As I said the information is scarce as of yet. All we've been told by the proper authorities is the location of the blast, but rest assured it's all being taken care of as we speak. My office will relay the information as soon as possible." The mayor tried to leave again beneath the turmoil that ensued but someone else's question managed to reach him, halting his retreat.

"Where was it?" she heard faintly. "Where was the explosion?"

"A nuclear reactor. Near ."

Her heart stopped. Her lungs turned to stone. That's… But that's…

_Gohan…_

* * *

><p><strong>For those who are interested, we are a group of collaborative writers who combine our efforts to bring you stories such as this one. We're an open group, meaning that anyone can apply to join. Feel free to check out our forums, our Facebook page, and perhaps apply to join the group, via the link on our profile. It's a great opportunity for those who would like to better their own writing abilities and exchange skills of the trade with fellow authors, or to simply be more a part of a writing community.<strong>


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